Valentines Musical Masquerade Mixer
by LadyShadow26
Summary: Konno sensei is at it again! This time with Teitan High coming along for the ride. A Valentines Masquerade Ball is announced for Teitan/Ekoda High and a special "prize" is being offered that catches a certain thiefs eye. Antics ensue. (No exclusive pairings)
1. Op 13 Minuet On the Blue Danube

_**~Valentines Musical Masquerade Mixer~**_

 _ **~Hello Everybody and welcome to my little Valentines Special Story. Originally I had plans for this to be a one shot, but a whole mess of things happened and it would seem that is no longer the case. Instead this will be a series of mini chapters. (As opposed to the novel length ones of my regular story) I will try to update this semi frequently until the story is officially "complete" but I give no promises as life's been kind of crazy lately.**_

 _ **So this story was originally supposed to have a "simple plot" involving a masquerade mixer thrown at Shinichi's school with Kaito's school coming along for the ride. This changed however after I started to think about the introduction of this story. I decided to set it about a week before Valentines day to give the characters and plot a little time to develop. I actually am not sure where this story is headed any more but I can tell you it will be just as the title says a "musical mixer"**_

 _ **Still about the musical bit… While I was writing this I was listening to some classical pieces. Some of the pieces really struck a creative chord with me. I wanted to share these awesome pieces with you readers so for each section that a musical piece/pieces appear there will be a note like this: *Prelude No 1 Bach* to let you know that somewhere in there a track fits with the given situation. Some are closer than others so please forgive me if the tracks don't always fit perfectly.**_

 _ **As always disclaimer: I own none of these characters. They are all Gosho Aoyamas amazing creations and I ask you to give credit where credit is due. Please continue to support Detective Conan/Magic Kaito by what ever means you see fit. ~**_

 _ **New disclaimer:**_ _ **Okay**_ _ **s**_ _ **o it has come to my attention a lot of people seem to be confused about the PAIRINGS for this story. I apologize for the confusion, but originally I had no intent of pairing anyone exclusively together. This is where the "mixer" part of the story comes in.**_

 _ **A mixer is(as defined by wikipedia): A kind of participation dance in a social dance setting that involves the changing of partners as an integral part. Mixing can be built into dance choreography or structured to occur randomly.**_

 _ **In other words: This story has no exclusive pairings because the "partners" are always changing. This is a romance story so you will see some hints of romantic pairings, but most are purely platonic. (With the exception of those who are already married of course) I did this as a fun way to explore relationships between characters**_

 _ **That being said if there are any exclusive pairings you would like to see please let me know via comment/pm. I will see what I can do, though I hold no promises. Already several requests have come in for Kai/Shin so expect to see at least a little of that appear throughout the story. Though I reiterate romance between those two is not the main focus of the story. I truly apologize if that is all you came here to see. Though I thank you for taking the time to read my story. I appreciate any/all viewers of my work and am open to constructive criticism.**_

 _ **All that said please enjoy!~**_

*Op. 13: Minuet*

Sonoko beamed at best friend Ran as they walked down the streets of Beika, Conan in tow shortly behind them. "Its going to be amazing Ran! You just have to come with us!" she said enthusiastically. Conan inwardly groaned as he half listened to her excited ramblings. She had been going on about something or other for the past half hour after successfully picking Conan up from elementary school.

Ran smiled kindly at Sonoko. She had known her forever. She was pretty well used to her friends habits and eccentricities. "I'll think about it okay? I don't know what I will be doing on that day yet..." Ran murmured, looking a bit sheepish.

Conan had managed to tone out most of their prior conversation. Unless it was something involving him, or a mystery needing to be solved he had no interest in what they were talking about. It had always been this way even when he was in his regular body. He and Ran were childhood friends, but Sonoko was her closest female friend whom she would often rant about "girl problems" with.

Sonoko pouted sticking her lip out in a frown. "Come on, Ran! I do not want to go to this without you! Makoto cant make it, and just think of all the handsome boys who are going to be there..." she swung her bag to her other hand looking desperate. In truth she was rather upset at the fact Makoto would too busy to make it. After all it would of been the perfect opportunity for him and her to spend some quality romantic time together.

Ran continued to smile lightly at her friend. Her mind wandered to Shinichi. Distantly she wondered if he was aware of the event that was about to happen at their school. He had not been to school in so long, and the announcement had come about so suddenly. It was only about a week until Valentines day. The dance was planned for Valentines evening. She shook her head, better to be safe than sorry. "I just do not know Sonoko. I might have plans that night.." Ran stared at her friend apologetically.

Sonoko paused at this a knowing grin crossing her face. She jabbed Ran lightly in the side with her elbow "Plans? Could it be that husband of yours decided to show up?" Sonoko teased, sending a mischievous look Ran's way.

Conan's head shot up as Ran's face flushed red. "N-No! That is not it at all..." she glanced down at the sidewalk.

Conan decided now would be a good time to cut in. "Ne Sonoko what are you talking about?" he put on his best childish quizzical look blinking behind his fake glasses.

Sonoko turned her attention to Conan "Oh is the little brat curious about high school affairs now?" Ran's face turned even more red upon mention of the word 'affair'. Sonoko shook her head staring down at Conan "Listen kid, our school is throwing this amazing Masquerade Valentines Ball with one of the other local high schools. All the people there wear masks and pair up in groups to dance together." Sonoko stood up gazing off into the distance day dreaming. "Ah I could just see myself dancing into the night with some mysterious gentleman...like my wonderful Kid-sama!" Sonoko's eyes sparkled as Conan choked a bit at the mention of Kid.

Sonoko turned addressing Ran once more "Well guess there is no changing your mind then." She sighed. "It really is too bad... I heard that hunk Doctor Araide is one of the coordinators." Sonoko turned around trying her best to look disappointed, but inwardly she was grinning. She had just played her trump card on her old friend. She knew all too well about Ran's crush on the doctor, second only to her feelings for that detective geek.

Ran and Conan each flinched for different reasons at the mention of that name. Ran stammered as she spoke biting her lip. "Well I... suppose I could always... leave early if I needed to..." Ran twisted her hands together behind her back trying her best to calm her beating heart.

Conan's eyes lit up in horror as he cut in desperately "Ran-neechan! You cant!" he quickly took note of the conflicted look on Ran's face. Were those...tears in her eyes? Oh no. Not this again.

Sonoko glared at him "Quiet brat! Who says you get any say in this?" she turned to her friend once more patting her lightly on the back. "You will go then?" she looked at her expectantly.

Ran gave her a small smile as she spoke up seemingly ignoring Conan's plea. She shrugged "Id love to go. It sounds like a lot of fun." In all honesty she was still unsure whether she wanted to go at all. Still it was better than spending another Valentines alone. Her heart held tight to the chance of Shinichi reappearing before then, but she no longer waited exclusively for him.

"That is the Ran I know! Come on lets drop the kid off with your dad and Ill take you shopping for a brand new dress." Sonoko beamed. Any excuse to go shopping was a good one, and she could not think of a better opportunity than this. Besides her friend deserved to pamper herself every so often. Who knows maybe even that deduction freak would show his face once more. He had the last time his love was threatened after all. This was going to be one exciting event.

Meanwhile Conan was left staring at the ground in frustration. He knew he could not really push his luck any further protesting Ran going. After all he did not really have much of an argument to make at this point. He sighed to himself. Sometimes it really felt like the universe hated him. Defeated he followed behind the two girls as they made their way back to the Detective Agency. He would have to accept the situation for what it was...at least for now.

~ *Blue Danube* ~

On the other side of town in the Ekoda district a near mirror image scene was playing itself out. Well at least it would of been mirror image were it not for the fact that one Kuroba Kaito was not in fact a shrunken child sleuth. Though he did share the look of an unshrunk Shinichi Kudo, save for the overly neat hair and signature serious expression. He followed casually behind his two chattering female classmates, one of which whom also bore a striking resemblance to Ran Mouri, as they discussed the big announcement at school.

Keiko was the most animated, excited at the very prospect of the event. "A Valentines Masquerade Ball Konno sensei is really outdoing herself this time!" Keiko grinned at her best friend looking downright giddy. "A dance with Beika High School. I hear they are one of the best schools in the area and really athletic too! I just bet there are a bunch of handsome boys there looking for partners to dance with." Keiko swooned.

Aoko nodded agreeing with her friends assessment. "I am actually glad...dancing on the floor is a lot easier than skiing on the slopes." She blushed somewhat, remembering her embarrassment only a couple of months ago. That event had turned out pretty great in the end thanks to Kaito, but she still would never forget her struggles that day.

"Cheh. As if a tomboy like you could manage to pull off dancing in heels." Kaito added in. Though in all honesty he wondered if she actually had ever danced in heels before. She really did look good wearing them. Not as good as he did, but that was a pretty hard expectation to live up to. He had worn enough heels in his "other" job that he had some experience moving in them. Though it did not matter in this case because he would most likely be wearing a tuxedo to this event. A **black** tuxedo. He really did not need even more reason for Hakuba to call out who he was. Though that did not mean he could not plan a little mischief as plain old Kuroba Kaito magician extraordinaire. Kaito grinned chuckling to himself.

"I can dance just fine thank you!" Aoko glared at him unaware of the thoughts going on in his head. She honestly was unsure about the heels though. She wore them on occasion though they were rather uncomfortable. Dancing in them was a bit of a different story but certainly not impossible. Of course she could hardly complain about the fact that heels made her look more "mature" either. She began to argue with Kaito again over this fact as he stood there laughing in her face.

Keiko sweat-dropped seeing her two friends at it again. She sighed watching as the two of them bickered senselessly with each other. They did not understand how lucky they were to have one another. She did not have a date to the ball herself, but it just sounded like it was going to be a lot of fun. Much the same as a KID heist. Speaking of which... "Hey did you guys hear the rumor about the prize that is being offered this time around?" Keiko interrupted her friends argument just as Aoko had managed to grab a nearby stick wielding it like one of her infamous mops.

Kaito and Aoko turned simultaneously to face her, Kaito still holding up his arms to guard against the oncoming assault. They blinked at her before glancing at each other confused then turning back to her. "Prize?" They said in sync with one another before turning to glare at each other once more.

Keiko sweat-dropped again but was quick to interrupt them "Mm they say this really generous donor from Beika High School gave this golden ruby encrusted tiara called 'Cupids Crown' as a prize for the most enchanting couple of the night." Keiko's eyes sparkled as she held her hands together imagining herself wearing such a priceless prize alongside a mysterious faceless partner.

Aoko and Kaito both stared at her in shock. A treasure like that being given to some random couple at a high school dance of all things. Just who could be so insane as to do that?

Suddenly a spark of recognition crossed Kaito's eyes. "Say Keiko...this donator they would not happen to be named Suzuki would they?" His face suddenly became very serious as he locked eyes with Keiko.

Keiko paused for a moment shrinking back a bit under Kaito's gaze. "Umm I think so... I mean I am not really sure but the name does sound familiar. Why? Is it someone you know?" Keiko tilted her head to the side her pigtails bouncing as she did so. Kaito was acting rather strange all of the sudden.

Kaito put his hands on his chin in a thinking position doing a near perfect imitation of his doppelganger. "Hmm...not really." Kaito stood there for a moment gazing out into the distance. For all outward appearance he seemed to be trying to remember where he had heard that name before. Inwardly however he was trying to make the connection of whether this was the same family that had challenged him time and time again. It certainly sounded like something they would do.

Aoko's face suddenly lit up in recognition as well, as she suddenly remembered where she had heard the name before. "Oh! Like the Suzuki Financial Group...I get it!" Aoko smiled proudly.

Keiko stared at her confused while Kaito wore a guarded expression still lost in his own thoughts. "I must be missing something..." Keiko put in.

Aoko twirled a bit, excitedly swinging her bag around and nearly hitting Kaito, though he dodged on reflex. "You know the ones that are always challenging that idiot Kaitou Kid!" Aoko paused a thoughtful expression on her face. "Jiro...Jiro..."

"Jirokichi. Suzuki Jirokichi." Kaito interrupted his face still expressionless. Though he now stood with his arms crossed. This certainly made things interesting if that were the case. There were so many questions running around in his mind now. Could this be a plot to uncover his identity? It would be crazy but not completely unheard of from this guy. How did he figure out he was a high school student? Well there was still the possibility he would show up regardless but nevertheless it was odd. What of the Edogawa brat? A high school dance would hardly be a place for an elementary student to show up. He was broken from his thoughts as Aoko spoke up once more.

Aoko nodded ignoring her friends sudden space out. "That is the one.. Dads had to deal with him a few times now. He says he is a pain to work with, but he always brings that little kid with him who has come the closest to actually catching the stupid thief."

Kaito groaned inwardly. "Conan Edogawa." He said under his breath a slight unintentional growl to his voice.

Aoko ignoring this nodded once more. "Right Conan Edogawa...Kid Killer!" she grinned at the name. While it was true that she wanted her dad to be the one to catch KID, she had to admit the prospect of having Conan around to assist in that was a good one. After all he had definitely come the closest to doing so, even ahead of Hakuba who for some reason had grown less active at KID Heists ever since the Nightmare incident. Conan on the other hand seemed to be more active at heists lately... though that may be partially because of Suzuki.

Aoko turned to face Kaito. In every bit that he was a KID fan she was a fan of Conan Edogawa. Her mind wandered involuntarily, thinking about what he might look like if he was just ten years older. Her cheeks grew a bit heated as she attempted to picture a seventeen year old Conan. Surprisingly the image she got was very similar to that of her best friend. Just smooth the hair and a bit and add some glasses... she chuckled at the thought. Appearance aside those two could not be any more different.

Kaito stared back at her scowling. "Just what is so funny? Are you thinking stupid thoughts about that brat?" Kaito lowered his gaze at Aoko before snidely adding "Didn't know you were the cradle robbing type there Aoko..." Kaito sniggered quietly. Though in truth his mind was trying to sort through all of this new information. What were the chances?

Aokos face burned a bright red as she swung her bag at Kaito, he just barely dodging that time. "Bakaito! I am not a pervert like you!" she screamed as she continued her attempts to hit Kaito. She noticed that he seemed deeply distracted by something, but she really could not forgive him for that last comment. Thus began another merry dance between the two of them.

Keiko shook her head and shrugged at her friend's antics. The dance was a week away and yet already these two were waltzing away like a married couple, albeit in a rough form. Kaito was egging Aoko on and she as per usual fell directly into his tactics. Keiko just stood there watching them for a while unable to stop them. They wandered along the river near the edge of town.

Keiko's mind wandered off into a daydream. As she watched her two friends movements she found herself imagining Aoko in a beautiful flowing blue dress, Kaito dressed in a handsome black tuxedo. They really made a beautiful couple. Kaito had always reminded her of a strange Prince Charming while Aoko was more like Juliet from the Shakespearian play.

She watched as they started by circling each other quietly. Aoko stared directly at Kaito, he grinned wildly back at her. She moved forward leaping quietly towards him her dress floating around her in a mix of lengthy fabric and frills. She wore a determined expression on her face.

He caught her in a swift motion swirling around before placing her on the ground. He continued to grin at her backing up a bit, a spark in his eyes. She then proceeded to kick at him while he danced around her movements. This went on for a while as they danced in sync with one another slowing down only enough to size the other up.

They continued in the opposite direction Kaito continually moving around Aoko, appearing on either side of her. Aoko swung her arm to meet his as he twirled her to the side. They chased one another with each barely catching the other in a series of fluid movements. Their feet moved in time with one another, Kaito only slightly out speeding Aoko at certain points.

Back in reality Kaito and Aoko were arguing animatedly as Aoko exchanged several blows with Kaito, only for him to dodge acrobatically. Aoko was at a disadvantage fighting mostly free handed. Though being out in the open allowed for a lot more free movement range. She had to be careful as Kaito had already stolen several glances at her underwear during the duration of their fight. She had also nearly tumbled into the riverbank a couple of times though Kaito had been quick to catch her each time.

For all extensive purposes to the outward observer it really would appear as if they were dancing with one another. Kaito was clearly leading her on while Aoko came within a hair's length of him with each successive strike. Still the fight ended almost as quickly as it started, as the two finally noticed the dazed look on Keiko's face. Kaito barely caught Aoko's bag, as she whipped it down towards him, he gazed curiously at Keiko's glazed eyes. "Now what are you day dreaming about?" Kaito asked curiously.

Aoko pouted quietly pulling her bag back in defeat, though she also looked at Keiko curiously. How long had she been standing there like that? That was a bit unusual for her friend.

Keiko's eyes snapped back to reality as she blushed lightly at both her friends shaking her head. "Its nothing..." she smiled sheepishly at them as Kaito raised an eyebrow at her, and Aoko gave her a bit of a concerned look. She quickly changed the subject. "Umm so do you guys really think this Cupids Crown is the real thing then?" she felt like this was a safe enough subject to broach.

"Who knows?" Kaito said suddenly shrugging, his face returning to his usual mischievous grin. "Guess we will just have to find out next week huh?" Inwardly he thought to himself he would have to find out sooner, that is if he had anything to say about it. Still he could not look too interested without giving something away.

Keiko nodded. "I guess you are right...oh Aoko have you picked out your dress for that night yet?" she turned to face her friend who had finished trying to maim Kaito, and was now standing staring at the ground as if lost in thought. She had a deep frown plastered on her face.

Hearing her name she glanced upwards. "Hmm? Oh...umm no I havent yet. I was thinking about just dressing casually actually... I mean this is kind of an odd event..." In truth this event was something none of them were used to. Though it seemed Konno- sensei had fallen head over heels for the idea and gotten numerous supporters to back its creation. It was a first that much was certain, and it did sound like fun in concept.

Keiko smiled kindly at Aoko in understanding though she noticed Kaito was surprisingly quiet. "Konno sensei said its supposed to be formal though..." she blushed twisting her hands awkwardly. "I am not sure what I am going to wear either. I dont have alot of dresses..." now it was her turn to stare at the ground.

There was a couple awkward moments of silent before Kaito finally spoke up. "Eh you two should not take everything so seriously." he interjected as both girls turned to stare at him. He stood casually his hands behind his head. "The events supposed to be fun after all...just wear what you want." Kaito paused watching their reactions. Noticing Aoko's surprise and continued frown he cheekily added "Though...if you want I am sure I could choose a couple of outfits for you two. I know that I could find something that will fit your figures perfectly!" he cackled.

Aoko suddenly gave him a full powered punch that would of made Ran Mouri cringe, this time hitting him dead on the face leaving him sprawled across the ground. She breathed a bit of hot air through her nostrils flexing her fist before turning around and grabbing Keiko. "Come on there is still time in the day... lets go shopping. We'll leave this pervert to his senseless stupidity." Aoko dragged her friend off towards the shopping district leaving Kaito behind to stare after them.

"Tch...Women." he grumbled to himself as he brushed himself off. In truth he had actually let her hit him that time in order to relieve some of the tension that hung in the air. "Aoko...you're fine just the way you are." he whispered to no one in particular as he continued to watch his friends retreating figures. Rubbing his sore jaw he got up to head in the direction of one of his KID safe houses. Well there was no shame in pointing her in the right direction though. He grinned a half grin as he went to collect a few things. Time for some quality dress shopping with the girls...then home to research this "Cupids Crown" Looked like it was going to be an entertaining day all around.

 _ **~Post note~**_

 _ **~Thus ends "chapter 1" of Valentines Masquerade Musical Mixer Hope you all enjoyed. The next part should be up pretty soon. Though from here on in updates will most likely be infrequent due to life and all that. Thanks again for reading! See you all next chapter!~**_


	2. Fur Elise Voices of Spring

**~Authors note~**

 **~ Hello everybody welcome to "chapter 2" of Valentines Musical Masquerade Mixer. (VM3 for short) Thanks for those who read/reviewed chapter 1! I greatly appreciate the support and hope you continue to enjoy my story as it plays out. Same disclaimer as before: I own none of these characters. Gosho does. That said here is chapter 2!~**

~ *Fur Elise*~

It was starting to look like a terribly boring day for one shrunken Shinichi Kudo. Sonoko despite his protests had dragged Ran off to go shopping for dresses with her. Leaving him alone with a half drunk currently asleep Mouri Kogoro. Joy.

Shinichi was only too overjoyed when his cell phone rang with a phone call from his good friend Professor Agasa. He quickly answered the phone with a "What's up doc?" barely flinching as he heard crashing noises in the background. Must be Ai stepped out for a while somewhere. There had been a lot less "accidents" in his house ever since she moved in.

Agasa laughed nervously from the other side of the line. "Hello Shinichi I was just calling to let you know your parents just called. Seems they are planning on coming for a visit some time soon. I thought I should let you know." Agasa knew better than to keep Shinichi's parents visits secret from him after the kidnapping incident. Shinichi had never truly forgiven for his part in that and had been holding it against him ever since. Seemed he had learned the art of blackmail from his father in Hawaii.

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. His parents had been in and out of Japan quite a bit lately. Seemed like they were finally taking the whole "An evil organization is chasing my son and keeps popping up everywhere he goes" thing seriously. Then again when did his parents ever take anything seriously? True it was honestly safer for them to keep out of matters, but if his dads publishers were any indication they were experts at staying under the radar. Well as under the radar as an internationally best selling author and famous actress could be.

Still that brought up a good question... "That is interesting. Do you happen to know why they are taking this time to appear?" Shinichi was generally curious what his parents motivations could be this time around. His mother had been spending a little too much time with their house guest the last few times she visited. Though Agasa had mentioned parents plural which meant his father was most likely coming along for the ride this time as well. Their last meeting had been...interesting to say the least.

Agasa coughed into the phone moving about some things in the background. "Well they did not really mention anything other than that they bumped into an old acquaintance from the Ekoda district. Your mom sounded especially excited about meeting them. I know a person from that district myself though I doubt it is the same person she was referring to." Agasa coughed again.

Shinichi decided to write off that last comment. Though it was interesting to him that his parents had seemingly bumped into someone from so close by on their travels. Small world, or so it would seem. It could have easily been one of his fathers many fans, but that would not account for his mothers excitement at meeting them. It was more likely one of her actress friends. Shinichi shuddered at the thought. After all the last actress "friend" of his mothers turned out to be a real killer knock out. He could not imagine how this new friend could possibly be worse though... he shivered involuntarily. Hopefully he would not have to find out.

Agasa continued to cough into the phone suddenly sounding as if he caught a cold. That would explain why Ai had stepped out then. Although it was a bit strange that a supposed seven year old would be buying medicine for their adult companion, Ai Haibara was certainly no ordinary seven year old. Though it was good that she was getting out of the lab for a while. The Black Organization had been rather quiet lately despite it all. Still... "Hey Professor is Ai out buying medicine all by herself?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line before Agasa answered. "Yes. Shouldn't she be?" Agasa seemed confused though there was concern in his voice.

Shinichi sighed he knew the professor meant well but he was kind of clueless some times. Ai knew very well how to take care of herself, so it was probably fine that he did not worry too much. That didnt change the fact she was probably alone at this very moment though. "No I am sure she is fine. Though honestly I have nothing better to do at the moment so I think Ill go meet up with her. Ran's out shopping with Sonoko at the moment so she should not be home for quite some time." Shinichi knew better than to stay out too late though. Ran may not threaten him physically in this body, but she knew very well how to yell his ear off.

Agasa continued to cough lightly from the other side of the phone. "Are you sure? She did say she was only going to pick up the medicine and then come right back."

Shinichi paused briefly for a few moments as he weighed his options. He had learned that with his lower immune system that it was not really a good idea to go to see someone who had been around a sick person all day. Of course Ai was in the same boat as he which was probably another reason why she stepped out. Still just as he said to the professor, really anything was better than be stuck at home with the "great sleeping Kogoro." Well that clinched it then. "Its fine professor. I am sure she wont mind if I tag along for her for a while." Shinichi chuckled a bit nervously to himself. In truth he did not believe that for a second, but at the moment he would rather be at the end of the evil eyed yawny girl's glares than be stuck here.

There was silence on the other line before Agasa answered. "If you say so Shinichi. I am sure you will have no problem locating her." Agasa gave one last cough before saying his goodbye.

Shinichi repeated his own goodbye before closing the phone and grabbing his handy tracking glasses. He quick scrawled a note that he was off to visit Professor Agasa just in case Kogoro managed to wake up and find him missing. He doubted that the old man would care either way, but nonetheless it could not hurt to be too careful.

Now to find out where Ai had gone off to. He quickly switched on his tracking glasses staring at the blips on the radar. Ai carried her detective boy badge around like a security blanket, though she was loath to admit it. If she was in the area as Agasa said she should be easy enough to track down. He already had a pretty general idea of where she was headed to. "Aha! Found you!" Shinichi beamed happily. Now all that was left to do was meet up with her. He quickly rushed out of the Detective Agency after the blinking dot that was on his glasses. That was easy.

~ * Voices of Spring Waltz*~

Meanwhile on the other side of town in the shopping district near several stores that sold gowns and other fashionable items...

"Ugh why does this have to be so hard?" Kaito groaned inwardly to himself. At some point between the time where Aoko and Keiko left him and the time it took to pick up his casual disguise material, the two girls had disappeared into the thick mass of crowds. He had been tracking them via Aoko's cell phone, a bug that he had placed in the charm he gave her, but somehow he had managed to lose track of the signal. "Which means they are out of range somewhere, or in an area with heavy interference." he cursed to himself earning some odd looks from the people around him.

Ignoring the looks he ran his hand through his messy brown locks somehow smoothing them down in the process. He then put on his black baseball cap and continued down the sidewalk, hands in his navy jean pockets looking to all like a casual teenager out for a stroll. This worked to his advantage somewhat as this was supposed to be a stealth mission. Granted he had somehow managed to lose his targets, but at the very least he would probably not be recognized off hand.

At least so he thought...as for some reason he continued to get stares from the people around him. Was there something on his face? He overheard some of them whispering things to each other saying "Is that who I think it is?" and nodding or shaking their heads in affirmative or negative response. Kaito suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable, still he held a steady poker face. Was it possible people had figured out his alter ego? No...if that were the case he would of been found out a long time ago. So what was it then?

Deciding to go into extra stealth mode he began snaking into the crowd popping in and out at random intervals to check for Aoko and Keiko. There was still a high chance of running into them if he moved fast enough. Though he had discarded the idea of checking the transmitter once more thinking that might be a bit too dangerous at this point.

Suddenly he spotted someone who looked an awful lot like Aoko from behind. "Bingo!" he said silently to himself as he carefully maneuvered his way around the crowd, waltzing between people along the way. He glided gracefully towards the figure only to pull back suddenly as he took in the face of his target. He knew that face. The large protruding piece of hair sticking up like a unicorns horn on her head gave her away instantly. Ran Mouri.

Kaito felt his heart quickly drop in his chest. He quickly glanced around searching for signs of the little boy and thorn in his side that often accompanied her. There seemed to be no sign of him. There was always the possibility he had wandered off else where...Kaito panicked internally at the thought as he tried his best to stay calm glancing anxiously around himself. He turned back to face Ran who had yet to notice his presence at the current moment. She was just standing there conversing with someone.

Hiding behind a nearby tree he was able to get a better look at the face of the person Ran was talking to. Ah...he recognized her instantly as well. Sonoko Suzuki. That made sense. His "self proclaimed" number one fan-girl was also Ran Mouri's best friend and confidant. He had seen them together enough times and even dressed up as them a couple of times to know this to be the case. Still what were they doing out here now of all times?

Hmm, come to think of it didn't these two go to Teitan High school? Things suddenly started to click in Kaito's mind as he moved silently down the street behind them. Their school was also set to participate in this dance. That meant most likely these two were also out shopping for dresses. That meant they had probably left the little detective at home. He sniggered at the thought. His little Tantei-kun stuck alone with that dead weight detective Kogoro Mouri. He almost felt bad for him. Almost. He shook his head and slipped back into the crowd keeping his eyes on the two chatting girls.

Hey maybe if he was lucky he could pick up some information from the two while he was here. Eh, who was he kidding? He was the great Kaitou Kid! Even if right now he was more closer to his civilian persona. Luck followed him around everywhere he went. Kaito grinned to himself, maybe he would not have to do research on that silly "Cupids Crown" after all. The source of information was right there in front of him. Knowing her she was bound to let some information slip. So with that Kaito decided to tail the two following at a close enough distance to hear their conversations.

Ran glanced up from where she was standing alongside a small corner shopping outlet. Her friend Sonoko had decided to take her to several smaller shopping centers to look for an appropriate outfit for the occasion. Everywhere they went there were red and pink decorations galore. Despite appearances Ran was actually rather fond of the color pink. Sonoko seemed to agree with the sentiment and as such she had tried on several frilly pink gowns along the way.

Still something was bothering her. It felt as if she and Sonoko were being watched. Probably due to her training in karate, as well all the time she spent with Shinichi and his relative Conan, she had developed a sort of sixth sense for dangers. Still despite that this felt somehow...familiar. There was no malice in the gaze she felt, but rather a strange sort of nostalgic warmth. Several times she had turned back to face the lingering presence but had found nothing out of the ordinary. It was probably just nerves and thoughts of Shinichi that were driving her to think this way.

Sonoko noticed her friends distraction and waved a hand in front of her face. "Earth to Ran. Are you there Ran?" she stepped in front of her friend glancing backwards towards the place she seemed to be so fixed on. She sensed that Ran seemed to suddenly be on edge and this worried her.

Ran slowly snapped out of her thoughts turning to face Sonoko once more noticing the concerned look on her friends face. "Oh...sorry Sonoko. I was just...distracted by something..." she could not shake the feeling in the back of her mind. She knew this feeling...this presence. She turned scanning the crowd once more, but once again was disappointed to find no one.

Sonoko shook her head. "Honestly Ran you worry me some times. Come on lets keep going. We need to find you the perfect dress just in case that husband of yours does decide to show up at the dance." Sonoko watched for her friends reaction to that last statement, but was surprised to find That Ran had just ignored her and was staring off into the distance again.

She was even more surprised when Ran suddenly took off in a sprint in the opposite direction they had been heading. "Ran?!" Sonoko called after her friend pushing her own way through the crowd of confused onlookers. Just what had gotten into her friend?

Ran inclined her gaze briefly back towards her friend as she ran after the figure whom she had finally managed to spot. "I cant talk now Sonoko, I might lose track of him again!" she continued to run forward after the slippery figure in the distance.

Sonoko followed after her friend still lost as to what was going on. "Him?" had Ran spotted someone she knew in the crowd...it could not be... "Wait for me Ran!" she called as she raced after her. There was only one person in this world Ran would be so quick to chase after. "Heh. I should of known he would be lurking around like this!" Sonoko was suddenly filled with a new vigor as she continued her pursuit now only a few paces behind her friend. She could not help but admire her friends tenacity and was inwardly cheering her on between breathes. If she had to liken it to something it would probably be her own drive to meet a certain Phantom thief.

Little did Sonoko know that said Phantom thief was the one currently on the run from Ran's hot pursuit. It had all happened so fast. If not for his natural instinct and practice evading opponents of a similar caliber he would not of made it this far. Something in him had reacted instantly upon seeing the fire in Ran's eyes as she hurtled towards him through the crowds. He had not got a good look in his haste to escape, but it seemed like something akin to recognition had been on the girls face when she unfortunately spotted him.

Kaito paused as he ducked into a nearby alley way. This was not good... "Did she really recognize me?" he thought to himself as he searched around him for more possible escape routes. He noted a nearby fire escape. "Chance!" he said to himself as in an impressive acrobatic maneuver he parkoured his way onto the escape. Just in time as well, as Ran took that time to arrive Sonoko trailing slowly behind her both breathing heavily.

Ran cursed lightly as she arrived at the now "empty" alley way glancing around searching for signs of the boy she had been chasing. "Shinichi!" she called out aimlessly but only silence answered her.

Sonoko came up behind her friend heavily out of breath from the run. "Ran..." was all she managed to say as she worked to try and catch her breath. Gulping deeply and continuing to pant she stared around at the alley way where they now stood.

Kaito watched from above, hidden in the shadows of the alley way as Rans shoulders suddenly slumped. "Shinichi..." she repeated looking defeated. He could see from his vantage point tears starting to form in the edge of her eyes. In his heart he felt a pang as he stared down at the girl who so resembled Aoko. He watched as Sonoko came up behind her friend giving her a light hug.

Ran shook her head her voice coming out strained and her words muffled somewhat by sobbs "He was there Sonoko...I saw him...he was following us around. Then when I caught sight of him he just...why would he run away like that?" she frowned tears slowly streaming down her face.

Sonoko frowned back at her friend continuing to take in their surroundings. It was true while she was following Ran she had spotted what looked like Shinichi running away towards the alley way...still it could easily of been someone else who just looked like Shinichi. She vaguely recalled a time just after the "Black Star" incident where someone had appeared like that. Come to think of it she could recall once or twice since then where she had seen such a person. "Ran are you sure it was Shinichi?" Sonoko asked softly. After all it could just be a coincidence... Sonoko trailed off wondering why that person would run though upon Ran spotting them.

Kaito was not sure why but he shivered lightly at the name "Shinichi" it felt familiar somehow. Had Ran really mistaken him for someone else? That was a bit bizarre to be sure. After all he was pretty used to getting compared to his alter ego, but some random guy off the street? Let alone one that seemed to be intimately familiar with his famous critics guardian... that was a pretty big coincidence.

Ran shook her head vehemently "I am sure of it Sonoko. There is no one else it could be. His aura..."she shook her head again this time lightly. "It was him." she stated resolutely. The tears had stopped falling from her eyes at this point replaced by something akin to anger. "That jerk...goes without calling for weeks and then shows up out of nowhere only to run off to who knows where and disappear again!" Ran punched her hand against the side of the wall creating a deep crack in the side and shaking the fire escape where Kaito hid.

Sonoko flinched somewhat as she watched her friends anger heat up. In truth she was pretty peeved herself. That idiot Shinichi had been stringing Ran along for who knows how long. Appearing whenever it suited him and then disappearing without so much as a "see you later." He was an impossible man. "That detective geek just doesnt know when to give up does he?" she frowned at her friend.

Kaito whom had been clinging to the fire escape leaned over a bit after hearing the word "detective" Huh...so the one she was after was also a detective huh? There was a sudden spark of recognition in the back of his mind. He had heard that name before. He shifted uncomfortably remembering the incident in question.

The heist at the clock-tower not long after he had originally taken up his fathers mantle. He had only heard the name briefly over the radio headset with Nakamori. Still that voice had resonated pretty strongly with him. After all it was nearly identical to his own... He had not put much research into it at the time, because after the incident in question the detective had never shown his face around his heists again. He did not really care about someone who had no actual interest in capturing him.

Suddenly he heard a horrible creaking sound and felt the fire escape lurch. Apparently the blow earlier had messed with the fire escapes structural integrity. He yelped as he felt himself slip falling directly in front of the two surprised girls clonking himself hard on the head. Looked like his luck had finally run out.

 **~Post note~**

 **~And on that tiny cliffhanger we come to the end of chapter 2! This was kind of a fun one to write. I think it is funny how in canon these three never "meet up" outside of heists. Ill go more into it next chapter but I feel like he should really get mistaken for Shinichi more often with how close the two really are in appearance/voice. That said once again I hope you all enjoyed. See you next chapter ;)~**


	3. Love song waltz Gnossienne

_**~Authors note~**_

 _ **~Hello everybody! Welcome to chapter 3 of VMMMMMMM (That's way too many m's but it sounds cooler that way)**_

 _ **Apologize for the delay every one! As I said unfortunately future updates should not be quite as frequent as I am quite busy with my full time job and life in general. Ill try to at least keep to one or two updates a week(Hopefully more if I can help it and my muse is singing) but I make no promises.**_

 _ **Oh big thanks to all who have read/reviewed/followed this story over the past couple of chapters. I honestly did not expect it to take off like this and am grateful for every one of you lovely readers. It really means a lot to me!**_

 _ **Huge special thanks to my good friend/ fellow author gadzooksthedragon11 aka Zookie who designed the cover art for this story. She has some pretty amazing works herself so please check them out!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Please support the original creator.**_

 _ **Disclaimer2: This chapter contains slight spoilers for certain Detective Conan events including the Scarlet Arc as well as the Bell Tree Express Arc They are subtle but they are there. If you have not read/seen these arcs yet you may be a bit lost. Read at your own risk. (Though it shouldn't effect this story all too much)**_

 _ **All that said…enjoy!~**_

~*Love songs waltz*~

Looks like good luck was on Ran's side today.

Sonoko and Ran stared, gaping at the sight before them. Sprawled across the ground lay the figure of the boy they had been chasing. They glanced at each other before swiftly moving into "sister mode", and leaning down on either side of him to help him back to his feet. Ran gripped his wrist hard as her expressions wavered between surprise, worry, and finally anger.

Kaito slowly twisted himself in her grip, pushing himself against the cracked wall. He looked very much like a deer caught in the headlights as he did his best to recompose himself, holding on to the remnants of his poker face. His head hurt from the new blow, as well as the hit earlier, so he was having a hard time concentrating. His whole body was screaming "escape" while he stood there, helplessly caught in the grip of one angry Ran Mouri. His only comfort right now was the fact that he had managed to recover his hat from the ground and put it back on his head, obscuring his face and hair somewhat. At least his "disguise" was still partially intact.

Ran continued to hold 'Shinichi' in a vice like grip while he squirmed a bit, seemingly trying to escape. "Shinichi Kudo, how is it you are still trying to run away? Do you realize just how much you have put me through these past few months?! I won't let you get away this time!" she said fiercely, tightening her grip on his wrist and glaring deeply at him.

Sonoko stared at the scene before her, amused. "You two are just like a married couple, constantly running away and fighting each other like this. It's just too precious!" she commented enthusiastically.

Ran blushed at her friend's words, her eyes widening a little as she slowly let go of 'Shinichi's' arm. "S-Sonoko! How could you say something like that?" She blinked a couple of times chewing her lip in embarrassment, refusing to look 'Shinichi' directly in the eye after that last comment.

Sonoko laughed as she watched her friends face turn beet red. She loved teasing Ran so much. She had always been slightly jealous of how Ran stole many a boy's attention away. Though, she had no feelings for that silly detective freak. Still she couldn't help but notice how happy he made her, and she could not wait for the day when the two of them actually got together. She remembered back to the day that Ran mentioned Shinichi's "confession." She was still waiting for Ran to work up the courage to do the same for him. What better opportunity than the upcoming dance? Sonoko grinned maniacally at the thought.

Kaito noticed the two girl's distraction, which gave him just enough time to think over his options. They really still seemed to be under the impression he was this "Shinichi" character. If he denied it, he would run the risk of them figuring out either of his identities, and passing it onto that little brat back at the Mouri detective agency. He would never live it down. No, it was probably best he just play along for now. If this "Kudo Shinichi" character was as flighty as these girls seemed to imply it was unlikely he would be coming back any time soon. It was still a risk but...he had no choice.

Putting on his best poker face he put his hands up in defeat, somehow feeling an odd case of deja vu. It felt just like the first time that Tantei-Kun had cornered him aboard that ship. "You got me," he said standing casually against the wall. He was not sure exactly how to act, but he drew on his knowledge of his encounters of detectives in the past, including Tantei-kun, to give him some ground to work with. "I won't run any more I swear." He gave Ran his best sincere look.

Ran and Sonoko stood there, gaping at him, unsure what to make of that last statement. Had he just said what they thought he did? They were certainly not prepared for that.

Sonoko was the first to speak up. "Really? Then how about you tell us why you ran from us just now... You seemed like you were in awful hurry to get away from us just a few minutes ago." Sonoko gazed suspiciously at 'Shinichi'.

Kaito sweat-dropped, but held tight to his poker face. He needed to think fast. Hmm, maybe he could use that... "The dance..." he gazed down putting on his best embarrassed expression. "Ran," he gulped hoping that he was doing a good enough impression of a nervous detective. "I wanted to ask you to...the Valentine's dance...but I was afraid of what you would say so I..." apparently his act must of been pretty convincing if the two girls expressions had anything to say about it. Ran was blushing profusely and Sonoko had a grin on her face that put Kaito's own to shame.

Sonoko prodded Kaito in the side causing him to flinch. "Oh so even the great Shinichi Kudo gets cold feet, eh?" she grinned as she watched Shinichi blush at her accusation. She immediately pushed him towards Ran. "I'm sure she would love to go with you wouldn't you Ran?" Sonoko continued to smile as she watched the two of them awkwardly blink at one another before they stared at the ground once more.

Finally Ran nodded, and a smile formed at the edges of her lips. She was going to spend Valentine's day with Shinichi. He had asked her to the dance. Albeit, after running away, but that was just the way he always was. She felt like she was floating. Could this be real? She glanced over at Shinichi who seemed to be staring off into nothingness. She knew better than to get her hopes up too high. She would enjoy what ever time she had with him right now.

Kaito stared off into the distance ignorant of the thoughts going on in Ran's mind. Inwardly, he was cursing himself. How had he managed to get caught up in a situation like this? He felt a twinge of guilt at using Ran's feeling like this. Well it didn't really matter, he would have to make the best of it. Dang his weakness for beautiful girls. He would have to see if he could track this guy down himself at some point, and give him a good talking to about how to treat women. For now, he had some more acting to do.

He frowned wearing a deeply serious expression on his face. "Listen Ran...I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately. It's been case after case, and I haven't had much time to talk to you," he paused gauging her reactions. Man if looks could kill... "But I promise I'll do my best to make it up to you." He breathed a slight sigh of relief as he noticed Ran's gaze soften.

Alright time to test the waters; "I do have to leave tonight again though. I'm really sorry Ran, but I promise for certain I will be there at the dance next Friday. I swear on the honor of Sherlock Holmes." Kaito braced himself for Ran's rage to return, but he was surprised to find her smiling next to him.

Ran slowly leaned in and hugged him causing him to blush. "I'll hold you to that Mr. Detective maniac." She pulled back, smiling and wrapping her arm around his then dragging him out of the alleyway. She held tight to him as they began to wander the streets together, her face beaming brightly.

~*Gnossienne No 1-3*~

Ai Haibara wandered the streets alone, a frown plastered on her small face. She was in a rather foul mood today, as it turned out.

The professor had managed to catch a cold, which left her to go get medicine for him. Honestly how could he be so careless? If he actually watched out for himself, he probably would not have caught a cold in the first place. True, it was edging on warm spring temperatures at this point, but nonetheless wandering out in the snow with nothing but a t-shirt and shorts on? How could a man three times her regular age behave so childishly?

She sighed to herself. In truth, it wasn't just the Professor that had her all worked up today. Valentine's day was just a week away, and it honestly brought back many painful thoughts and memories. Valentine's and Christmas were two of the only Holidays she and her sister, Akemi, had gotten to celebrate together.

Neither of them really had ever had much "love" to speak of, the organization had made sure of that. She recalled a man whom her sister had been seeing while she was still with the organization. Though she knew very few details about the true nature of their relationship. Supposedly from what little information she could gather, he had only been using her to get close to the organization. He had disappeared not long after-words, probably dealt with in the way most traitors were.

She could remember the look on her sister's face, not long after his disappearance. She had seemed quite broken up. The organization seemed to enjoy destroying any semblance of happiness for her and her sister. That was just the way they operated, killing love without remorse. She had tried to emphasize this fact to Shinichi Kudo countless times for his sake and for Rans.

Ai was unsure if she even knew the meaning of the word "love". She shuddered as she remembered back to her time with the organization and the abusive relationship she had there. Some may lay claim to the fact that Gin "loved" her. It was more like he was obsessed with her in the worst sort of way. She shook her head once more, trying to clear thoughts away of that man.

In truth much the same as any girl she harbored dreams of meeting "the one." Her knight in shining armor. She was not blind, nor ignorant. She knew very well whom she wished that to be. A picture appeared in her mind of Shinichi Kudo, dressed in a shining black knights outfit. That outfit which he had leaned into kiss his true lover with. The one that he harbored feelings for even now, despite Ai's constant warnings not to get too involved.

Yes, she was aware her feelings were unrequited. He was too dense to realize his own feelings anyway. Though, she pushed such thoughts to the side in favor of seeing that smile of his. She would do anything to please him, because she felt she owed it to him. It was her fault he was in this situation in the first place, after all.

She sighed as she walked down the street, towards the pharmacy where she was to pick up the Professor's medicine. The world around her seemed to be cloaked in scarlet. Everywhere she went there were decorations celebrating the holiday. Couples walked hand in hand down the street together, some even getting some pre-valentine's kisses in. Ai felt her stomach lurch a bit as she imagined herself at her rightful age, standing beside Shinichi Kudo holding hands with him.

He was probably out with Ran right now, and Ai almost wished she could be with them. She had come to look up to Ran, much the same way she used to look up to her sister. It was ironic in a way she could not quite describe, for though she was rightfully older than Ran she saw her as the older sister. That may of been at first due to her heavy resemblance to her real sister Akemi, though.

She paused in her steps as she got lost in a daydream, thinking about the short times she and Akemi got to spend together. Her older sister was one of the few bits of color in her otherwise bleak, gray world. Though the organization monitored their "sister outings", she and Akemi would enjoy their shopping trips together whenever they got the chance. It was difficult due to her always working, and Akemi being a distance away. The organization certainly didn't make things easy either. Though they were determined to "please" her, for a time at least.

~*Gnossienne No 4-6*~

Conan had finally managed to track Ai down with his tracking glasses. He noticed her standing there, in the middle of the street, in a daze. He grinned quietly to himself. Something in his brain that sounded a lot like KID's voice was telling him this was the perfect opportunity to sneak up on her and surprise her. Quietly he approached her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

Ai was immediately torn from her reverie as she felt someone touch her back from behind. She quickly whipped around, lifting up her wrist in a defensive stance, keeping her hand on the stun gun bracelet she often wore when she went out alone. It was at times like these she was glad to have Professor Agasa's inventions handy.

Conan's eyes widened and he held up his hands defensively. Okay that was not exactly the reaction he had been expecting. A delayed voice in his head reminded him that it was probably not his best idea to sneak up on the ex-organization member. "Now you tell me." He thought to himself, rolling his eyes slightly.

Ai slowly lowered her arm glaring at the shrunken detective before her. Sometimes she wondered what was going on in that crazy head of his. "Edogawa-kun," she practically hissed his name. If she was in a foul mood earlier, this incident had only proved to make it worse.

Conan lifted his hand to his neck and scratched it sheepishly. "Hi, Haibara. Sorry for surprising you like that," he grinned lightly at her. Well he was certainly starting this off on a great foot. "What were you daydreaming about though? It isn't like you to stare off into space like that." Perhaps if he brought the subject manner away from his impulsive nature, she would just move on and forgive him.

Ai couldn't believe how stupid Conan was acting. Just what was he thinking sneaking up on her like that? He of all people should know the dangers of such an idea. "Idiot." she mumbled under her breath. He was such an impulsive fool. He had become slightly more childish over time, as well. Seemed hanging out with the tantei-dan had caused him to behave rather immaturely.

Still, staring at him like this, she could not help but notice the certain bit of charm he carried with him. The kind of charm that several girls, unfortunately herself included, had easily fallen for. She was not going to let him off that easy, though. "None of your business there, Tantei-kun," she used Kaitou KID's affectionate nickname on him as a means of annoyance as well as to make a point. Seemed Conan had picked up some bad habits from his good friend the thief as well.

Conan flinched. He realized quite well why Ai had used that nickname, and he supposed he deserved it. Since when did he start acting like that damn thief, though? He must be going soft since turning into Conan. Though that did make him wonder what KID would be like, acting like him in either form. Ugh. Well that was an incredibly creepy thought. He had seen how well KID acted as other people, had witnessed it first hand on the train some time back. The person standing in front of him here was still here today based partially on his would-be heroism. Even if that heroism only came about by means of blackmail. He had to admit he really was surprised by the guy.

Ai chuckled. "Now who's daydreaming? Don't tell me it's about our beloved thief in white?" she grinned maliciously.

Conan's face lit up a pure red. Just...what was she implying? He noticed the evil grin on her face and the mirth within her eyes. Trying his best to compose himself he stammered lightly, "Wha-what's that supposed to mean?" He attempted to recover, but images of Kaitou Kids famous grin filled his head. He noticed Ai wore a similar expression. Damn she was enjoying this.

Ai gave an evil chuckle. Conan was just too easy to tease. She could see why the thief in question enjoyed it so much. Though she had to question whether Conan and he actually did harbor some feelings for each other. She held no feelings for the thief, though she did appreciate his efforts in not only saving her life, but that of her friends as well. She had no doubt Conan still remembered his efforts in the eccentric mansion. Seemed the "no one gets hurt" policy was more than just a rumor.

Ai sighed. She supposed she should let Conan off easy after all. She would certainly hold his reactions for blackmail later on. Though, a little extra teasing wouldn't hurt. "Come on Tantei-kun." she said in a mock sing-song voice similar to KID's. "You can tell me all about where your guardian girlfriend went off to as we go pick up the medicine for the professor." Ai continued to grin. Seemed her day had begun to improve after all.

Conan flinched at both the continued use of the nickname and the implications of that last statement. He fell in step beside Ai. "If you're talking about Ran, she's off with Sonoko buying dresses for some stupid event at school or whatever…" he lowered his eyebrows in frustration. While it was true he was not a big fan of shopping he still would've preferred to spend some more time with Ran that day.

Plus, he had a rather strange sensation ever since Ran and Sonoko had left the detective agency. His boredom earlier had blocked it out somewhat, but it had grown stronger as the day went on. It was almost like… just before a heist. Conan shook those thoughts away quickly. Ugh, stupid Ai and her KID references. He was probably just imagining things.

 _ **~Post note~**_

 _ **~So there you go short and sweet that's chapter 3. You may of noticed the subtle reference to Kaitos dialogue from Movie 3 here. This is a good time to point out that movies are not canon in this fic (Much as it would please me for them to be) Kaito is unaware of Shinichi's identity and likewise Shinichi has no idea that they have similar appearances. (He out right denies it in the Black Star case) Anyway that's all for now! Hope you all had as much fun as I did and I'll see you next chapter!~**_


	4. You and You Waltz Pastorale 1

_**~Hello everybody and welcome to chapter 4 of VMMM. Sorry for the delay. As I stated last chapter lifes been kind of busy so I have not really had much time to write. I am attempting to remedy this situation, but unfortunately I have also been dealing with some writers block in the mean time.**_

 _ **Anyway thanks to all my loyal readers who have followed/reviewed so far. As well as to all the ghosts/guests out there who have viewed this piece. I never expected it to reach 100 views let alone 500! Im really thankful for all you guys!**_

 _ **Special thanks once again to my good friend Gadzooksthedragon11 who has been a huge support with this piece. She has helped me numerous times with getting through some of the trickier scenes to write, and is helping unofficially beta this piece. Youre the best Zookie :D**_

 _ **Ah now on to some questions that were raised last chapter. I have put a new disclaimer up in Chapter 1 as to the "pairings" of VMMM. If there is any further confusion as regards to those feel free to pm me. I will restate this now though to be clear: This is a non exclusive pairing story. No one pair will take priority over another. I am open to any/all suggestions but know now that this is an "everyone" friendly story so romance will not be going beyond a few kisses/teasing words and gestures. I apologize for any confusion in that regard.**_

 _ **As to the question raised about where in canon this story takes place… well I kind of answered that a bit in chapter 3's disclaimer but this story takes place some time after the "Scarlet Return" Arc. I will be the first to admit however that I have not seen/read all of DC up to this point so if there are any inconsistencies I apologize. Its hard to remember everything in a 900+ chapter story, I am afraid I am only human.**_

 _ **Finally to answer that last bit there MysticCritic: Kaito was caught between a rock and a hard place. It should be explained a bit in this chapter, but he does feel remorse about using Ran's feelings for this "stranger" against her. He just felt he didn't have any other choice in the matter as telling her his real name would of risked him getting revealed to Conan back at the detective agency. He could of gone with an alias potentially but then he might of gotten in trouble for other reasons. (I mean he was running from them…pretty dang suspicious)**_

 _ **In retrospect he really should of gone with an alias…but hindsight is always 20/20. He was thinking on the fly and made a rather critical error. Youll see some of the aftereffects of his poor decision pretty soon I'd say ;)**_

 _ **Well with all that out of the way general disclaimer: I own none of these characters. All credit belongs to their original author Gosho Aoyama. Please support Detective Conan/Magic Kaito by whatever means you can!**_

 _ **Thanks and enjoy!~**_

~*You and You waltz*~

She must be imagining things. Ran could not believe that Shinichi was right here walking beside her.

Sonoko followed silently behind her friend and her would be date. She sighed lightly as she watched Ran lead Shinichi down the street. So, her friend would have a date to the dance after all. Well that was fine... that was what she wanted in the first place, right? In truth she was still holding out, hoping that perhaps her beloved Kid-Sama would show up. She had taken a hint from her uncle's book after all, and set up the perfect bait for KID to appear. Though her intentions were far different from her uncle's.

She sighed once more watching the two in front of her, nervously hold hands with one another as they strolled down the street together. She was surprised at how silent Shinichi was acting. Normally he would be rattling on about something or other, usually related to a case he had worked on. Something was off about him, or her name wasn't "deduction queen Sonoko Suzuki." She decided it was best to keep her eye on him, just in case.

Meanwhile Kaito felt Sonoko's suspicious gaze on his back as he was pulled along the street by Ran. He was pretty sure Ran had just chosen to ignore her own suspicions due to her drive to spend time with this "Shinichi". Inside he was feeling pretty conflicted.

He looked at Ran and all he could see was that sweet, ignorant smile on her lovely face. Once again, there was a certain bit of guilt in his heart, as well as anger at the boy who actually made her feel this way. Though, that brought a strange thought to his mind. "What would cause Shinichi to want to run away from you?" he wondered to himself.

For some reason his mind wandered to his own situation. Could it be he was trying to protect her? From what little he knew of the guy, it was more than likely he made a few enemies with his prideful intellect alone. A detective's occupation in some ways was even more dangerous than that of a Phantom thief's. At least with his "job" he remained partially anonymous.

For some reason a picture of a certain tiny tantei came to mind. The Bell Tree train incident still rang strongly in the back of his mind. Tantei-kun had a penchant for sticking his nose where it didn't belong. Perhaps this Shinichi guy was no different.

It was possible he had gotten involved with some shady individuals similar to the ones that were after Pandora. Sure it sounded crazy, but after all he had been through in the past year or so, did he really have room to talk? If that were the case, then he and Shinichi were probably even more similar than they first appeared. Heck he would actually like to meet this guy now. Perhaps they could help each other out in some way. He chuckled lightly at the thought. What a pair they would make.

"What are you laughing about?" Ran broke him from his thoughts, tilting her head to the side.

Kaito paused briefly. He had forgotten for a moment where he was. "Oh nothing I was just thinking about this book I read recently," he chuckled again, a bit nervously this time.

Ran lowered her eyebrow at him, scowling a bit. "Oh, I didn't know Sherlock Holmes could be funny."

Kaito groaned internally at this. In truth he had read all the Sherlock Holmes books out of boredom once on Hakuba's recommendation. Never again. They were far less entertaining than his own personal favorite Lupin series. He stuck his lip out somewhat in a small pout. "I do read other things than Sherlock you know..." he wasn't sure if this was true or not of the detective, but he refused to believe that anyone would be that single minded. Heck, _Hakuba_ had admitted he did read other stuff, he just really looked up to the fictional detective.

Ran smiled kindly at him, holding in her own laughter. She knew very well his love for the fictional detective knew no bounds. Though, she did admit she had seen him read several other series over the years including his close second favorite Detective Samonji. Still she couldn't resist the urge to tease him a bit. "That's true, though, it IS all you seem to talk about. Last time you called you spent an hour on the phone just ranting about him. Just like the time you took me on that date to Tropical Land."

Kaito's eyes widened involuntarily at this. Was she for real? Man this Shinichi guy was seriously something else. What kind of guy brings a girl to the happiest place in Japan only to talk about a fictional character the whole time? Even HE was not that crazy. Still, he would have to play along if he wanted to look legitimate. "Are you still on about that? I told you I was sorry..."

Ran shook her head "You never apologized for that, or for running away and disappearing at the end of the night! You have been running from me ever since." she glared lightly at him though in truth she had long since forgiven him for that. Still she loved to see him shrink under her gaze.

Once again Kaito felt his eyes widen, though he quickly recovered his composure. He held up his arms waving her off in a "cool guy" act. "Well, I'm sorry, okay? I told you I have a lot of cases and a really important one just happened to come up that night." In truth, he was just improvising at this point as well as mixing in a bit of his own personality. How many times had he made excuses to Aoko on heist nights, only for her to yell at him the next day? It was strange, the more he talked with Ran, the more this guy's situation felt similar to his own.

Ran harrumphed. "You really think you're something else, don't you, oh great Meitantei," she said sarcastically glaring deeply at him, all earlier teasing lost. "You and that ego of yours! Ugh, sometimes, I just can't stand it!" She kicked at a nearby post breaking it in half as nearby onlookers quickly rushed out of the way.

Kaito stared horrified at the nearby post, but his instincts kicked in once more as he began a new back and forth exchange with Ran. It was just as he had suspected, Ran clearly had strong feelings for this Shinichi guy. Why else would she try to goad him into an easy fight? Still, he was not about to back down either. Kaitou Kid never backs down from a challenge. Though, there was no way he was going to let this fight get too physical. He was still unsure of the detective's skills in that category.

Sonoko, who had been watching this scene play out, grinned once more. Though she still felt like Shinichi was acting weird, she couldn't help but laugh at the two's exchange. Seemed that everything was back to normal with them as she watched her two friends argue with one another over nothing in particular.

Kaito was unsure whether Ran had caught on to the tactic he was using to pry information from her about this "Shinichi" guy. He was honestly intrigued with him now. Seemed he and Ran had quite the history together. Thus, Kaito used simple guarded questions to garner what he could about the guy. If anything he could at least try and track him down. After all, it was just another fun quirk of the trade.

Speaking of which... despite the near hour that had passed since the start of this exchange, he had still managed to gather little to no information about his true target: "Cupid's Crown". The description that Keiko had given earlier had intrigued him. It sounded as it had potential to hold a large jewel within it. He had managed to prod a bit of information about the dance from Ran during their "argument", but had yet to find out about the crown itself.

He glanced at Sonoko, who seemed to be lost in her own little world at this point. The three of them had stopped at a little cafe at the edge of the southern shopping district called _Café Soleil_ , to chat and have something to eat. Kaito had taken notice of how Sonoko kept pushing he and Ran together for some quality time. It was beginning to grain on him.

Perhaps if he could just get Sonoko alone for a bit, he could explain the current situation to her. After all she probably had the information he really needed, and he knew very well that she would never turn him in. He hated to almost use her like this, but from what little he had gathered, it seemed his hypothesis about her being the one to challenge him was correct after all. Therefore, there was no backing down now.

At that point, luck decided to shine on Kaito once more as Ran's phone began to ring. "Huh? Who could that be?" Ran grabbed at her phone. "Oh, looks like it's Kazuha. Hold on guys I've got to go take this call. Don't go anywhere," Ran directed that last statement in Kaito's direction, but her smile indicated she trusted him, a fact that made Kaito's stomach churn with guilt.

Oblivious to 'Shinichi's' guilt Ran walked away, picking up her phone. "Moshi moshi! Kazuha it's been a while! I'm actually really glad you called I needed to talk to you about..." she grinned lightly into her phone.

Her grin soon soured as she listened to Kazuha's frantic voice. "It's terrible Ran...that stupid ahou what was he thinkin'!" She had a feeling she knew where this was going...

~*Symphony no 6 Pastorale 1*~

Meanwhile at a train station near the central part of Tokyo metropolitan district...

"Come on Kudo why don't ya pick up yer phone," Heiji grumbled a bit into his phone as he walked deeper into the outer shopping district.

He had decided to take a rather spontaneous trip to go see his best friend and rival. He had left shortly after lunch that day. Originally he had planned on surprising him and just showing up out of nowhere, but then he remembered that Kudo often went out on outings with his girl. Still, when he had tried earlier, it had gone straight to voicemail. Of course, that was to be expected as he couldn't exactly answer that phone on a regular basis. It was mostly just for "emergencies", as he put it.

Heiji grinned as he imagined his friend's annoyed face behind those goofy fake glasses of his. There were times he truly felt sorry for him, being stuck in the situation he was in. Still, he had to admit it there was a bit of humor in his situation. A teen detective, with an intellect higher than most adults, in a child's body. There had to be some irony there.

Finally there was an answer on the other end of the line. Heiji grinned as he heard his friends young voice answer him. "Oi Hattori what is it you want? You know better than to be calling me like this. Haven't you ever heard of a text message?" Heiji grinned once more, continuing to imagine little Conan's face on the other side of the line.

"Hello to ya too, Kudo. Where ya been the past few hours?" He ignored the grumbling he heard from the other end, leaning casually against a building while he continued to chat with his best friend.

"Seriously? Hattori I really don't have time for this right now. I'm out and about with Haibara at the moment and we were just about to..." there was some unidentified shuffling on the other end of the line. Seemed Kudo was out in the city as he had expected. Though, he was surprised he was with that little girl as opposed to Ran.

"That's the thanks I get fer travelin' all the way here? I'm wounded Kudo." Despite his words Heiji was grinning from ear to ear, especially because he was pretty sure he knew what his friend was going to say next.

As expected Kudo sighed in exasperation " You're here? In Tokyo? I seriously can't believe you Hattori. Look, where are you at? I'll meet you there." There was what sounded like an argument to that statement in the background though Heiji couldn't make out the words. Sounded like the little nee-chan was pretty peeved at him as well. Though, she always sounded like that, so it wasn't that surprising.

"Well considering I jus' got off the main Tokyo train line, where do ya THINK I am?" Heiji grinned. No way was he going to let the "Great Detective of the East" off that easily. In truth, he could just as easily grab a cab and meet Kudo back at the Professors back in Beika, but where would the fun in that be?

"Bakayaro...you can't be serious right now," Kudo grumbled on the other end of the line which only made Heiji all the more pleased with himself. Kudo sighed. "At the very least, could you give me a landmark to work off of?"He sounded tired.

Maybe it would be better to let him off a little easy this time… Nah. Kudo was always claiming Tokyo to be the better city than Osaka. If he loved it all that much, it wouldn't take him long to find him. He paused a minute trying to think of a way to describe the area without giving too much away. He heard a growl on the other end of the line "Hattori..."

Heiji laughed "No need ta bite my head off. So, across the street from where I'm standin' there's a big red bricked building. There's also plenty of tall skyscrapers around. That enough clues for ya?" Heiji grinned. Honestly the information he gave him was so generic it could mean just about anywhere. Still he knew his friend well enough that he wouldn't take long to put the pieces together.

Indeed mere moments later "...got it. So you're in Marunouchi near the Art museum. Geesh Hattori, why didn't you just say so? You're starting to act more like KID." There was a chuckle at the other end of the line emanating from the little nee-chan if he had to guess. Seemed she found the comparison humorous for some reason.

Heiji was not completely unaware of his little friend's "other rival." He actually snorted a bit himself at the comparison. In truth he had yet to meet the guy face to face, though he had certainly heard a lot about him from Kudo. It's funny, though, the way he talked about him was some odd place between admiration and hatred.

Heiji wondered briefly what it would be like if KID came to Osaka. Not that he cared much about petty thieves anyway… Still, he felt he owed the guy something for the amount of joy he seemed to bring to Kudo's spirit when he wasn't around. Even if he did feel like beating him up for a certain taser incident he had heard about. How was he like this guy again? "I'm gonna ignore that last remark. Look, when do ya think yer gonna get here? It's gettin' late an' I'm starvin'."

There was shuffling on the other end of the line as if an unspoken conversation was going on. Finally Kudo answered. "I'm about a half hour away from where you are right now. If you hang tight, I should be there soon enough. There should be several ramen shops nearby if you're really hungry."

Heiji grumbled a bit at this. Tokyo food just could not compare with Osaka's rich foods. Though he supposed he had little room to complain here. Sure, it was no takoyaki but ramen was at least filling. Now, he would just need to find the shops. Seems like Kudo was throwing his game back in his face. Ah well, if that's the way he wanted to play... "Alright, let's make a bet then. If ya can find me in the next hour, I'll buy ya dinner. If not ya owe me for whatever I get." He grinned as he heard a groan from the other end.

"Fine, I accept your challenge. I'll see you in less than an hour." With that, there was a discernable click on the other end as the call disconnected. Heiji grinned to himself, satisfied. Looked like he had made the right decision to come here after all. Though, he suspected Kazuha was probably pretty upset with him right now. Eh, she would get over it. He spotted a sign for "Tokyo Ramen Street" and began heading in that direction. Time to order some high priced noodles.

~*Pastorale 2*~

Conan hung up the phone with a huff. "Why do I even bother with him?"

Ai just stood there silently. She crossed her arms, an unamused look plastered on her otherwise expressionless features. "You could of refused him you know." Her tone was even, but she was clearly hiding something in her words.

Conan shook his head. "I know, but then he never would've let me live it down. Trust me, Haibara, there's no reasoning with this guy." Conan frowned. "Listen, I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly like this Haibara. I'll make it up to you later okay?" His eyes were apologetic and pleading.

Ai shook her head. "I never asked to spend time with you today. As I recall, you were the one to initiate this meeting. Though, if you insist..." Ai held out her hand in a mock hand-out gesture. "I'll accept your credit card as payment." She smirked, an evil look crossing her face. True she was not really mad that he was abandoning her, but that didn't mean she couldn't hold it over his head a little.

Conan lowered his eyebrows, before reaching into to grab his parent's card, though Ai quickly stopped him. "I was joking. Besides, if I hang around with you too long, somebody is bound to turn up somewhere. At least your Osaka friend can deal with that sort of stuff." she pushed him away. "Go on. I've got to finish up this errand anyway."

Conan nodded lightly ignoring the remark about the dead body. Despite he and Hattori's earlier conversation he was actually rather excited to see his Osakan friend. Especially if it meant one-upping him as usual in a battle of wits. With one last nod to Haibara, he grabbed at his skateboard and took off.

Haibara watched him go sighing to herself. That boy was impossible. She turned and continued to head off in the direction of the pharmacy alone. At least there would be no further surprises today...

 _ **~And cut. That was chapter 4 everyone. I considered going on for a bit to introduce another character but I think I will save that for the next chapter… lets just say Ai's about to run into another high school detective who just so happens to be hanging around the area.**_

 _ **Ah let me just state this now I am horrible with geography. I struggled writing the short conversation you see here between Conan/Heiji because I am an ignorant American who has never stepped foot in Japan in my life. Therefore please excuse any errors I may of made I was going entirely off of internet resources.**_

 _ **Heijis dialect is one of the trickiest things for me to write. I hope I did a good enough job imitating the Kansei-ben dialect. I apologize to all Heiji fans. If you have any tips please pm me or leave a constructive review and I will try my best to do better in the future.**_

 _ **Also internet sweets to anyone who catches the little reference to one of my favorite video games in here. Its so subtle you have to be looking for it, but much the same as Heiji I'm not going to just give it to you. Though Ill give you a hint: It has more to do with France rather than Japan. Ill probably reveal it in the next chapter ;)**_

 _ **Well hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Ill be working hard on the next as soon as this is published. Just unfortunately don't expect it right away. Im still kind of swamped here so I don't think Ill be posting more than a chapter a week :'( So sorry all! Ill try and get it done as soon as possible! Until then: Thanks again for reading! Ill see you next chapter!~**_


	5. William Tell Overture Op 84 Egmont

_**~Hello everybody and welcome to chapter 5 of VMMM.**_

 _ **Thank you all once again for taking the time to check out my story and leave comments/reviews. It means a lot to me, and I really do hope you guys are enjoying reading this story as much as I am writing it.**_

 _ **This chapter was an especially fun one for me to write. It has one of the most iconic musical numbers out there ("William Tell Overture") though its separated into pieces here. The "Finale" is the piece everyone knows/has heard at one point in time in their life. I was listening to the full version as recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. The approximate time tables for each section will be placed by the title in italics. Again you don't HAVE to listen to these pieces but it is very much encouraged!**_

 _ **Side note: My "beta-reader" has a new name. She now goes by Please support her wonderful works!**_

 _ **As always disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They all belong to their author Gosho Aoyama. Please also continue to support his work!**_

 _ **All that said… Enjoy!~**_

~*William Tell Overture Opening _Start-3:10_ *~

"Perhaps a surprise or two wouldn't be so bad after all." This was the thought going through Ai's mind as she wandered back from the errand she had started to run earlier. She had finished picking up the professor's medicine, and now she only had to pick up a few other minor supplies for the newest batch of antidote she was working on.

Ai sighed to herself. In all honesty, she was glad to have had Conan's company. Now, with him gone off to who knows where, she was left alone once more. She tried to concentrate on her current mission, but found herself distracted once more by all the valentine's decorations around the city.

There were several shops and vendors offering "chocolate making supplies". Ai scoffed a bit at the idea. Conan's smiling face once more crossed her mind. She had no doubt that he had received several chocolates over the years from various suitors in his life. What would a couple of handmade chocolates from her mean to him, anyway?

She found herself inadvertently wandering into one of these shops. Her hands began to hover over some of the materials needed to bake chocolates. As a chemist, she actually knew quite a bit about baking. It was actually another one of the few things she and her sister had managed to share together.

She couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the memory of her sisters baking skills. She thought back to the Valentine's just before her sister's death. Akemi had been attempting to make chocolates for her "boyfriend", only to quite utterly fail at the task. Ai remembered her sister's frustration, which, at the time was something that had gone over her head. After all, why go through so much trouble for some guy she hardly knew?

" _Why go through so much trouble for some guy you hardly even know?" A teenage Shiho Miyano stared up at her older sister's frustrated face. She had been at this for the past hour or so._

 _Akemi sighed staring down at the mess before her. "You may not understand it now Shiho...but someday I guarantee you'll meet him."_

" _Who?" Shiho asked, confused._

 _Akemi smiled brightly. "The one. Your knight in shining armor. He'll come into your life like the wind. When you stare into his eyes you'll just know. You would do anything to make him smile, even if only for a moment." Akemi continued to stir the chocolate vigorously, despite the mess already on the table._

 _Shiho shook her head at her sister's persistence. In truth there was a small part of her underneath that still believed in such a fairy tale romance, but it really seemed impossible given her current situation. She remained silent, though, a small smile cracked across her face._

~*William Tell Overture Part 2 The Storm _3:11-5:20_ *~

Ai found herself back in the present staring at a shelf of baking materials. Well, she supposed it wouldn't hurt to try. She grabbed a couple of small chocolate molds alongside the other ingredients at hand. There just happened to be some lemon juice there as well, and something in her made her want to get it. Thus into the small pile it went.

Satisfied Ai bought the rest of her materials and made her way back towards the Professor's. However, as she walked, she couldn't help but feel a lingering presence behind her. It sent a shiver up her spine. Could it possibly be the Organization? No, it didn't feel like it. Nonetheless she didn't like the feeling. She quickened her steps only for the presence behind her to follow in suit. Finally she was in an all out run.

All the landscaping around her blurred as she attempted to get away from the presence at hand. She could think of nothing other than escaping from whomever had her in their gaze. She glanced around frantically, unsure of where she had managed to run off to. Seemed she was now in a less populated area of the city.

She continued to run senselessly until... "Oomph!" she ran straight into someone. She fell to the ground dropping all her shopping materials as well as her purse in the process. Her adrenaline still running high she stared up at the person she had managed to nearly bowl over in her haste to escape.

She couldn't help but gasp a bit as she met the cool brown eyes beneath a mess of blonde hair that stared back at her.

~*William Tell Overture Part 3 Morning moods _5:21-8:37_ *~

Hakuba Saguru was not one easily rattled. He had been chasing Kaitou KID for nearly over a year now, and in that time he had learned to take surprises rather well on a day-to-day basis. He had to, if he wished to deal with both KID and his counterpart on a daily basis. Even if said counterpart would rather irritatingly never admit to his night time antics.

Either way, he was no stranger to surprise. When a young girl who looked to be about eight years of age came barreling out of nowhere and ran straight into him, he didn't even flinch. He just stood there momentarily dazed before turning to stare directly into her eyes. Those bright, frightened eyes. He leaned down to offer her a hand "Are you alright miss?" a concerned look crossed his face.

Ai blinked for a moment, taking in the voice of the teenager standing before her. She quickly noted the slight British twinge to his Japanese accent. He didn't look like he was much older than her rightful age. Seventeen, maybe eighteen at best. He didn't give off the aura of an organization member either. In fact there was something about him that reminded her of Kudo. Could he be a police officer or detective of some sort? She let out a bit of a sigh of relief as her nerves began to calm themselves. She shook her head. "I'll be fine."

Glancing around, she noticed the mess of materials on the ground. The boy seemed to also notice the mess, as after leaning down to offer her a hand to get up, he quickly moved to help her with the scattered ingredients. Luckily, it seemed nothing was too damaged.

"I'm really sorry Miss. I should have taken better care to watch out. Are you sure you are alright?" He gave her another concerned look, which only made Ai shrink under his gaze. Those eyes were so intimidating, and yet so kind. They somehow reminded her of Akemi's boyfriend.

She quickly grabbed at the small bags in his hands and bowed very delicately to him. "Thank you for your help..." she blushed lightly. What exactly was going on right now? She felt like her heart was on fire.

Hakuba smiled politely at the girl before him. "Forgive my rudeness, Miss. My name is Hakuba Saguru. Pleasure to meet you." He bowed formally to her. It was strange, despite the fact he was addressing what looked to be an eight year old child, he was getting a very adult vibe from the girl before him. Much the same as his two encounter's with that Edogawa boy.

Ai continued to blush as she answered back politely. "Haibara Ai. Nice to meet you too." she mumbled that last bit. In truth, she was still a bit on edge. Though, her nerves were all over the place for an entirely different reason now.

~*William Tell FINALE _8:38-end_ *~

Suddenly, the world seemed to speed up once more as a mysterious figure in black sped past Ai and Hakuba, pushing them and grabbing Ai's purse in the meantime.

"Stop thief!" Someone from behind yelled and Ai watched in shock as Hakuba suddenly took off in front of her after the retreating figure. Moving entirely on instinct, she followed behind as fast as her short legs could carry her. It's times like these that she wished she had a skateboard like Conan's, or at the very least a bicycle.

The thief must of noticed their presence, because he suddenly increased his speed, dodging in and out of the crowd leaving chaos in his wake. He had a desperate look on his shadowed face. Seems he hadn't been expecting a chase.

Hakuba had reacted instantly on hearing the word "thief" being uttered, and noticing just whose purse had been pilfered. Just what kind of jerk thinks it a bright idea to take a young girl's purse? Ugh. He couldn't stand petty thieves. Glancing backwards, he noticed that Ai had also decided to follow him. Though she looked very much as if she were out of breath already. He paused enough to let her catch up. He had an idea.

Ai suddenly felt herself being scooped up in strong arms and placed upon Hakuba's back. "Hang on tight," was all she managed to hear as Hakuba took off in the direction of the thief once more. She would have objected had she had the chance but she was caught up in the moment.

Hakuba found himself caught up in the adrenaline rush that usually accompanied KID's heists. He had spent so much time chasing after KID that he built up rather strong legs in the process. This only aided him now as he balanced Ai on his back and ran towards the criminal in front of him. There was no way he was going to let him get away with this. Not on his pocket watch.

The thief's eyes widened as he noticed the man charging up behind him, carrying the little girl whose purse he had stolen. Was that guy even human? How the heck was he managing to nearly keep up with him despite carrying a load on his back like that? He glanced around frantically trying to find a place to escape to. He ignored all of the stares in his general direction as he dodged into a nearby alleyway hoping against all hope that they would run straight past him.

Luck was not with this thief, as Hakuba followed him into the empty alleyway, still carrying Ai on his back. The thief shrunk backwards against the wall looking both exhausted, and downright terrified. Hakuba lightly dropped Ai down as he approached the man holding out his hand. "I believe you have something that belongs to this girl." Hakuba's voice came out cold and unforgiving.

Once again, things seemed to move at an increased rate, as suddenly the man reached into his own bag and withdrew a gun. Hakuba stared at it for a minute, unfazed, before he moved to knock it from the thief's hands. The thief quickly pulled the trigger and several things happened at once as Hakuba felt himself being forcefully pushed to the side the bullet barely grazing his arm but leaving a mark, nonetheless. Ai had managed to jump in front of him at that point and pulled her own trigger on the small tranquilizer gun in her bracelet. The dart shot out, hitting the thief's neck and knocking him out almost instantly. He fell to the ground with a loud thump.

Hakuba stared in wonder at Ai who just stood breathing heavily over the now fallen thief. Slowly she lowered her arm and walked over to pick up the purse the man had stolen from her earlier. This was definitely not an ordinary eight-year-old girl. Recomposing himself, Hakuba got up from where he hadfallen on the pavement, hand still clutching the point where the bullet had made impact with his arm.

"You should call the police now," Ai said in an even voice. She stared at the fallen thief before her. So, this was the figure that had been watching her earlier. Just an average run-of-the-mill pickpocket. She was both relieved and disappointed.

"Right..." Hakuba echoed. It was a good thing he had Nakamori on speed dial. Though he doubted the man would be very glad to hear from him. Flinching against the wound in his arm, he quickly retrieved his phone and put the call through. He had to wonder what Kaito would have to say about this entire situation...

~*Egmont Op. 84: Overture*~

Half way across Tokyo, in a small cafe at the edge of the shopping district, Kaito sneezed. Sonoko stared at him as he pulled a handkerchief out of nowhere and turned to wipe his nose.

"Are you alright...KI..err Shinichi?" She quickly caught herself as she continued to stare at the boy before her. During the interim of Ran's phone call with Kazuha, Sonoko had a little surprise when the boy whom they thought was Shinichi revealed himself to her to be KID in disguise. Needless to say, her heart was doing backflips at the moment.

KID shook his head lightly. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, but it's most likely just one of my fans talking about me behind my back." Sniffling a bit, he thought silently to himself "Probably Hakuba or Aoko actually..." he rolled his eyes lightly at the thought before returning his attention to the girl before him.

He gave her a bright KID grin as he made the handkerchief disappear once more, a white rose appearing in its place he handed it silently to Sonoko. "Now milady, mind telling me a bit more about this Hattori character you were telling me about?" For the past half hour or so, he had been getting information out of Sonoko. Meanwhile Ran conveniently continued to chat with Kazuya on the phone a distance away. Seemed they were having a rather important conversation themselves.

Sonoko nodded. She just couldn't believe her beloved KID-sama wanted so badly to talk with her, let alone gossip. Seemed using her uncle's technique had worked to perfection in the end. KID had been lured in by the "Cupid's Crown", which Sonoko was more than happy to reveal to be very real alongside the story that came with it. Apparently it was actually supposed to be a magical item of some sort. Super romantic, even if she didn't necessarily buy into the tale herself.

She had noticed how KID's eyes briefly lit up at the word "magical", his grin widening. She filed this away for future reference. After all, if that is all it took to get the Moonlight Magicians attention, she may have to use this technique again some time.

Since then, he had asked her rather generic questions, chatting about the people in her life. Seemed he had not meant to take on "Shinichi" as a disguise originally, and he seemed very interested in locating the guy for Ran's sake. Sonoko couldn't help but admire KID's kind nature. Seems he wished to make it up to Ran for the confusion at hand, as well as dressing up as her that one time. Thus, Sonoko had been more than willing to spill all the information she had on Kudo.

That had lead into the conversation on Hattori Heiji, the detective friend of Kudo's who had come looking for him one time, and had apparently since become quite closely acquainted with him. Seemed he was one of the few people out there who actually knew how to track Kudo down, as he had appeared a few times since then alongside the runaway detective. (AN: Pretty much every case we get to see with Shinichi temporarily appearing has Heiji involved in some capacity) Sonoko began to go into detail about the Detective of the West and his appearance and nature.

KID listened intently to Sonoko's ravings about Hattori. It actually reminded him of a description Hakuba had once given of a hot headed detective who had made an appearance at one of his murder cases. He recalled how Tantei-Kun had also been briefly been mentioned as being at that meeting as well. Seemed those two were well acquainted. Hakuba had raved about how the young detective had out maneuvered both he and the Osakan hot head. KID grinned at the thought. He was glad he wasn't the only one at the end of Tantei-Kun's genius.

He was broken from his thoughts as Ran returned rather suddenly, just as Sonoko was finishing up her talk about Heiji and Conan's odd relationship. "Aha so I was right!" Both Sonoko and KID jumped at her words though KID was quick to recover.

Sonoko turned to her friend who had a wide grin on her face. "Right about what?" she asked bluntly, a little afraid of her friends answer. If she had figured out KID wasn't Shinichi, that could spell serious trouble for both of them. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed KID was leaning back, a bit of fear in his otherwise expressionless features.

"Heiji has come to town to visit you hasn't he?" Ran stated proudly her eyes glancing over Shinichi as she took note of the strange reaction.

KID relaxed in his seat. Okay that was a bit unexpected...but he could work with this. "Oh, did I forget to mention Hattori when I mentioned my case earlier? Must of slipped my mind." He smiled a bit nervously scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. That had been far too close for comfort.

"Oh come on, don't give me that. I just got off the phone with Kazuha and she mentioned how Heiji had disappeared rather quickly. She said he left a note saying 'gone to Tokyo don't come looking for me.' I told her how you were here and how he probably came to visit you. I am right aren't I?" Ran gave Shinichi a quizzical look, gauging his reactions carefully. She had noticed how Shinichi had been acting rather odd today. Almost as if he were a different person...she shook her head. That was just as ridiculous as the thought of Shinichi and Conan being one in the same. She needed to stop overthinking things.

KID gave a small chuckle, trying his best to regain his poker face. "Well remember when I told you I have to leave yet againtonight? Its because I have to go meet Hattori so we can talk things over." He cleared his throat glancing over at Sonoko, giving her a line to help him out of this one.

Sonoko was quick to pick on the signal and nodded, affirming KID's claims. "That's right. K-Kudo-kun here was just telling me about how he and Heiji were on this big case together. He probably is really excited to see him. So umm...let's finish shopping and let the two detectives hang out with each other, okay Ran?" She smiled brightly at Ran. Sonoko thought herself a decent actress, but KID had caught her rather off guard there. Still she refused to let him down at this point. Especially since she was picking up on the hidden message that KID had just dropped.

Ran glanced between her friends, slightly confused. Was there something she was missing here? She decided to shake it off for now. Though she held a note of suspicion in the back of her mind. Seemed that Shinichi was up to something again. Well, she certainly wouldn't let him break his promise of showing up at the dance next week. He would be there if she had anything to say about it.

Little did she know, KID was having a similar thought. "I'm going to find this Shinichi character and make SURE he is at that dance. Even if I have to drag him there in the process." He grinned a bit to himself.

"Look Ran, its like I said, I promise I will be at that dance next week. You can trust my word." He sent a side glance at Sonoko, who nodded lightly at him. Seemed she had picked up on what he wanted her to hear. Not only was he going to make sure this Shinichi Kudo was at the dance, he was going to be there himself as well.

Sonoko grabbed Ran's arm. "Come on Ran. I know he's not the most trustworthy guy in the world, but I'm sure in this case he's telling the truth. If he say's he will be there, he will," she gave a glance back at KID, sending him her own message. He nodded lightly at her in return, grinning and causing her to blush a bit. She quickly turned away, pulling Ran with her. "Let's go find you the perfect dress Ran. You'll want to look your best at the dance next week. Its sure to be an interesting event!"

Seeing that she could no longer protest, Ran sighed and gave one last glance back at Shinichi. "I'll see you next week then Shinichi. Please...don't forget your promise." she stared at him with pleading eyes before being pulled off into the crowds and away.

KID stared back at her his face expressionless. Inside he was feeling all the more determined. "You can bet on it Ran. A gentleman never backs down on his word. I will find this Shinichi Kudo and I will make sure he never runs from you again, without a very good reason." With that KID turned and ran in the opposite direction.

Elsewhere Conan Edogawa shuddered...what was this feeling all of a sudden?

 _ **~And cut. That's it for chapter 5 everyone! How was it? Did I hit the right note of humor that I was going for? In case you all were wondering yes I(almost) literally turned Hakuba into a horse. I LOVE name puns. Booker Kudo still goes down as my favorite. (Seriously I give the English translators MAJOR props for that one) Though Hakuba the horse here is just kind of fun to imagine too. I may write an omake where he actually turns into a literal horse/centaur but I think Id need a little help from Akako for that one!**_

 _ **Oh speaking of Omakes/ Extras there is actually a deleted scene I have for this chapter where its revealed just how Kaito proves he's KID to Sonoko. If there is enough requests for it I may post their full conversation in a separate thing, but for now I think I will hold on to it. Honestly I hated to cut it, but this chapter was already running long. In the end its actually my longest chapter to date in this story. Well anyway…that's just the way things go I guess.**_

 _ **Well thanks again everyone for reading my story! I already have plans set up for the next chapter though its going to take some time to draft. Needless to say its finally time for our beloved thief and detective to meet! But first theres the matter of a certain Osakan detective to be settled. You cant step into KIDs territory and not expect a little bit of chaos… See you all next chapter! ;)**_


	6. Vivaldis 4 Seasons Summer

_**~Hello Everybody and welcome to chapter 6 of VMMM. I apologize for the delay. Life got kind of got in the way this week and I wasn't able to complete this until Friday night. Then I waited on my beta reader to finish up some edits. (Thank you by the way I am so in the habit of using those "ofs" I may never get used to it.) Oh by the way her names Disconsolate Mist now. For some reason when I tried to post her name last chapter my computer didn't like it for some reason. Hopefully it goes through this time!**_

 _ **Thank you again to all my readers/reviewers who have stuck with me so far! 1,000 views I can't believe it! I really don't deserve you guys! T_T You're awesome and I hope you continue to enjoy my silly story as I produce it. I've had a blast so far writing it and were about half way through as far as I can tell. (Im not sure how many more chapters this will be, but there are only a couple more character introductions before the dance itself so Im hoping not more than 14-15 chapters long.)**_

 _ **That said… disclaimer: None of these characters are mine. I love getting to play around with them though. Please support the original works!**_

 _ **With all that aside…please enjoy!~**_

~*Vivaldi's Four Seasons Summer 1*~

Kaito ran all the way back to his nearby hideout somewhere on the outskirts of Tokyo. He knew figuring out the detectives' location was not going to be easy work in this giant city. Still, here he could sort out his bearings. He would have to move rather quickly if he wanted to manage to find both detectives before they gave him the slip.

He chuckled a bit at the irony. Normally it was the detectives doing the chasing. This time it would be the fox chasings the hounds. (AN: This is an unintentional reference to the fic that semi inspired this one "The Fox and Hounds" by Hebiaczek) And he was bound and determined he was going to find them too. No way was he going to let them get away without a proper KID greeting. He found himself grinning at the thought. Welcoming a new detective to the ranks of the chase...this would be fun.

Though he knew he would have to be cautious in some regard. He still was unsure about that Osakan detective, but Shinichi Kudo, the real Shinichi Kudo, was no slouch. He had nearly out maneuvered him once before, and if he really was going to face this guy again, he needed to be prepared for anything. There was no way he was going to get caught on his day off, of all things. Hopefully, Lady Luck was truly in his favor tonight.

Hakuba had once called Kaito "Batman" and while Kaito had scoffed at the idea at the time, he didn't deny the resemblance. Kaito's hideout resembled a poor man's bat cave. While he certainly was no Bruce Wayne, Kaito, alongside Jii, had done his best to equip his hide out with some of the latest available technology. His father had been rather old school in his methodology, but Kaito himself preferred a more modern approach.

Still, much of his father's influence remained here. Jii had informed Kaito about how his father had kept up numerous "back up hideouts" scattered across the various locations where he went on heists. There were two here in Tokyo, including this one, and the one back home behind the hidden panel. Toichi had at least one location set up in each of Japan's nine major prefectures, though due to Kaitos limited traveling mobility, he had yet to actually visit many of these. It was likely they had long since fallen into disrepair. Still Kaito had taken it upon himself to clean this one up a bit and upgrade it to current day systems.

He kind of considered this his "home away from home", as he often came here to rest after particularly taxing heists. After he first took up his father's mantle, he had went about renovating the place, though you certainly wouldn't be able to tell from outward appearance. The apartment itself was located on the outskirts of the business district somewhere in central Tokyo. It didn't stand out much, and was dwarfed by several larger buildings in the area. It had a rather plain appearance aged with time.

Even the interior didn't look like much on initial inspection, though this was the work of a master illusionist. For all appearances, the apartment itself was very minimal. It had all the needed amenities for living, such as a small bathroom near the entrance, bedroom, and kitchen area. Kaito chuckled to himself as he gazed over everything. He could tell his father had thought of everything when choosing this place. It hadn't taken him long upon his initial arrival here to discover the many hidden secrets of the place, similar to the room behind the panel back home. You need only know where to look.

(An: Shadow here! Again for more information on the hideout please see "The Fox and Hounds" by Hebiaczek, specifically chapter 35 Please support this awesome work!)

There was an old office room hidden off to the side that contained a section of monitors connected up to a system that Kaito had designed himself. To any outward observer, it resembled that of a modern pc gamer. Still it had access to a technology very similar to that of Tantei-Kun's tracking glasses, as well as a few other programs. He had already converted most of his father's old files and information into the database on the computer, encrypting them with a special software so they couldn't be accessed by anyone, other than himself and Jii. It was really handy to keep track of the jewels that had already been checked, as well as other general information connected to heists.

Kaito sat down in the comfortable swivel chair in front of these monitors, spinning around and thinking quietly to himself. This was not going to be an easy task by any means. He hadn't been able to even track down Keiko and Aoko earlier. How the heck was he supposed to find a detective he didn't even know in this mess of a city? Kaito continued to spin around in frustration, careful not to knock into anything. What would his father do in a situation like this? Kaito found his mind wandering into the past, thinking about a semi-similar situation he had faced with his father over ten years ago...

~*Vivaldi Four Seasons Summer 2*~

 _Kaito sat sobbing lightly next to the cage of his favorite little dove, Bai. Earlier that day, despite his father's warnings, he had accidently left the cage door slightly ajar. Bai had managed to craftily find her way out of her cage and had flown away to places unknown. Kaito had searched seemingly everywhere for her, but to no avail. He was really worried about her though...what if she was hurt? He didn't even notice his father as he came up behind him._

" _Kaito." Kaito jumped as he heard his father's deep voice saying his name. He instinctively moved to cover the cage from his view, fearing his wrath at the disappearance of one of his prized doves. Kaito wasn't supposed to play with Bai without his permission, after all. Toichi stared down at him, his face expressionless, though Kaito could feel his father's strong blue eyes judging him. "Kaito come with me. I have something to show you." he turned suddenly and motioned for Kaito to follow._

 _Kaito followed reluctantly. He knew that he was in for a scolding now. He really should have listened to his father in the first place. Then Bai wouldn't be missing, and he wouldn't be in this mess after all. He trudged silently behind his father, dragging his feet. However his expression quickly changed after he realized where his father was taking him. He brought him to the stage where he practiced some of his best magic acts. Kaitos eyes lit up as he stared around him._

 _Suddenly there was a puff of smoke and a snapping sound, and just like that Toichi was gone. Kaito glanced around, confused. He could have sworn his father was just there, where had he gone to so suddenly? First Bai now his father... why were things around him disappearing like this? Kaito's eyes filled with tears once more. His father was clearly playing a cruel joke on him._

 _He heard his father's voice call to him. "Sometimes the things we lose are much closer than they first appear. You need only know where to look." He glanced around trying to find the source of his father's voice. Still he grew frustrated as he saw nothing to indicate where his father could be hiding._

 _There was a bright flash and suddenly his father appeared right beside him, standing there smiling down at him. Kaito stared up at him in awe. How had his father done that? "Wow! That's so cool!" his eyes sparkled as he completely forgot what he was so upset about a minute ago. He knew better than to ask his father "How'd you do that?", but nonetheless was curious how his father had managed to pull the trick off._

 _Luckily Toichi seemed to have anticipated his reaction as he chuckled and spoke once more. "Listen, Kaito. The art of finding something lost, and the magic behind disappearing and reappearing stand on a similar principle. A magician must know the mind of their audience, and trust their own mind to discover what is hidden."_

" _Trust my mind..." Kaito looked down for a moment, piecing together his father's words. He thought about Bai and her habits. She was probably hungry at this point, which meant that she had most likely gone in search of food of some sort. By that logic...Kaito ran towards the place where the grain was stored. His smile brightened as he found Bai asleep atop the bag that held her food._

 _Kaito picked her up joyfully, cuddling her close despite a small coo of protest, and carried her back to his father proudly. His father in turn had smiled at him and taught him more of the basics of disappearing acts. He had never received that scolding, instead getting something far more valuable._

~*Vivaldi's Four Seasons Summer 3*~

Kaitos mind snapped back to the present moment. "You always knew just what to say, didn't you...dad." He grinned as he turned his mind back to the problem at hand. "Know the mind of my audience huh huh? Hmm..." He was searching for a detective so he needed to think like one. His mind wandered briefly to the two main detectives in his work: Tantei-san and Tantei-kun. Both had somewhat different methodology, but their mindsets seemed to be similar. It was all in the facts and details.

"Okay so what can I...deduce" Kaito had to keep himself from gagging at the word. This was just so unnatural him playing detective like this. "...about Tantei-hans current location?" Kaito paused gathering the facts he knew in his head.

Well to start he had traveled here to Tokyo somehow from Osaka. From what Hakuba had mentioned about the guy before he was not exactly the most patient person, in fact quite the opposite. So he would have probably taken the fastest and most efficient method of travel...train. If memory served the train station that serviced Osaka-Tokyo was in Marunouchi area. That certainly narrowed things down assuming he had not left that general area since arriving. Still assuming he arrived somewhere around six at night he was most likely quite hungry when he arrived. That narrowed things down even further.

Hmm… he had a general location now all he needed was positive proof on where he could find and meet this guy. He needed to work quickly. The more time he took to find this guy, the less chance he would have of catching him before he and Kudo disappeared to parts unknown.

He thought back to his first and only meeting with Kudo. How had the Meitantei managed to chase him back then? It had required a complex knowledge of the area at hand. Their complicated game of chess wouldn't of been possible, had the detective not had access to the buildings schematics. So in this situation he would need data on the Marunouchi area. Specifically the outlying area between the train station and the line of restaurants nearby. It would really be best if he could get some sort of audio visual feed... Still, how could he do it without the detective catching on to his scent?

It would require a little craftiness, but if he could hack into some of the nearby camera systems... It was worth a shot. If he was still in Marunouchi area, that meant he couldn't be far from the art museum. Kaito still had some hidden cameras with audio feeds staged around there as well. He'd really just have to pray Lady Luck was truly on his side today.

Kaito quickly went to work. Being in such a business filled area, there were tons of security cameras to work with. His eyes scanned the screens before him. A tan detective as Sonoko had described couldn't be THAT hard to locate. Assuming of course he was still in the area as Kaito had deduced. He was almost positive he was still somewhere near the restaurant district.

Just when it seemed hopeless, Kaito spotted a blip of darker skin on one of the screens. "Aha! Found you!" Kaito grinned, zooming in on the area at hand. He had managed to pick up on a video feed just outside "Tokyo Ramen Street". Seems he had been correct in his deductions after all.

"Heh wait until Tantei-Kun finds out that I..." Kaito paused his eyes widening. "Tantei-Kun?" There, standing right next to the Osakan on the screen, was the little detective wearing that expression he usually reserved for when he was kicking deadly soccer balls at people. It was somewhat surprising, seeing as Sonoko had earlier stated that they had indeed left the brat back at the Detective Agency. What on earth was he doing out here of all places? Though, granted, this WAS Tantei-kun he was talking about.

"Heh...should of known. Kid can't stay put worth anything. He must have somehow heard about Tantei-han's arrival and gone to meet him." He remembered the two detectives strange relationship. Seemed Tantei-han and Tantei-kun were about as close as the two older detectives by both Hakuba and Sonoko's admission. It was also true detectives tended to flock together if past experiences were any indication. Kaito grinned. "They're probably waiting for the infamous Kudo Shinichi to arrive at this point."

What luck he was having indeed. With Tantei-kun there, he could definitely get a fix on their conversation. Tantei-kun had somehow never managed to notice the special bug he had fixed into his glasses during the dreaded Kirin's horn incident.* That, or perhaps he choose just to ignore it, which was kind of an odd thought come to think of it. Just when did Tantei-kun start trusting him? Kaito shook his head. It didn't matter, all that mattered now is that he had a way to listen in to the two detectives and perhaps finally get an idea where this Kudo Shinichi kept running off to, and more importantly, why.

Kaito switched the audio feed on, putting on a pair of headphones. He watched as the one he had dubbed Tantei-han began to talk. "Aww Kudo come on don't tell me yer still sore about losin' the bet." Kaito's eyes widened once more as he glanced about the screen, searching for his would be look alike. Could it be he was already there?

Suddenly he felt a chill run across his back as he heard the reply from a voice he knew all too well...it was not Kudo Shinichi's voice though. "Oi Hattori, that bet was unfair and you know it. I got caught in traffic for goodness sake! You know this skateboard can only go so fast." An irate Conan glared up at Heiji. Kaito paused staring in silence at the screen before him...maybe he had heard wrong?

Heiji waved Conan off "Whatever ya say Kudo. Yer the one that agreed ta it." Heiji grinned down at his friend.

On the other side of the screen Kaito flinched...no he hadn't heard that last part wrong. Tantei-han had just called Conan "Kudo". Kaito swore slightly under his breath, trying to keep his nerves under control...poker face, he needed to keep his poker face. Biting his lip, he continued to stare at the scene happening before him. What...what the heck was going on here?

"Oi didn't I tell you to stop calling me that in public? What if one of THEM over hear it?" Conan glanced around a bit nervously before glaring up at Heiji.

Kaito continued to squirm uncomfortably in his swivel chair. "Them?" Just what was Tantei-kun talking about? Could he be referring to the guys from the Train incident some time ago? More importantly... did Tantei-Kun just acknowledge the fact that his name was KUDO? As in...Shinichi Kudo? Again. What the heck was going on here?! Kaitos brain was running on overdrive. He was half way between denial and outright disbelief at the facts presented before him.

It seemed like the whole world froze as his mind began to process little pieces of the puzzle he was now facing. Tantei-kun and Meitantei were the same person? It made so much and so little sense at the same time. "There is only one truth." Isn't that what he heard that detective always said? The irony of that statement was truly beginning to hit him. It was pretty obvious that was NOT the case here.

Kaito's mind was reeling. This felt a lot like the moment he first discovered his father was an infamous, international, jewel thief. Kaito clenched his fists and then released them once more. He could feel the sweat trickling down his face as he stared, open mouthed at the screen before him. He watched the two continue to chat with each other, though his mind now blocked out the audio.

Kaito breathed in and out, trying to calm his racing pulse. Poker face. He needed to focus on keeping his poker face. Although, there was no one around to see him now, so what did it really matter? He still needed to approach this with a rational mind though. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. It all seemed so impossible...still he had certainly seen stranger things. How had he not put two and two together before?

According to Sonoko's information, Meitantei Shinichi Kudo had disappeared shortly after the clock tower heist. Which is why Kaito had not heard the name again for some time after that heist. Shortly thereinafter came the first official heist where Tantei-kun, "Conan", had appeared for the first time.

Kaito had been unsure what to make of the boy upon their initial meeting. The boy had come across so sure of himself. Tantei-kun had stood there, unfazed, even in the infamous KID's presence. Kaito had been initially surprised that a young would-be seven-year old boy had somehow managed to figure out what many police officers struggled with. Not only that he had time and time again afterwards shown prowess in not only revealing the secret within KID's heist notes, but his disguises as well.

Huh...so _that_ was why he reacted as such when he dressed up as Ran. Somehow, that made a lot more sense. He had unintentionally dressed up as the boy's girlfriend, of all things. In hindsight, that was probably not the smartest idea, but how was he supposed to know? Ugh...he was really kicking himself now for not putting this all together sooner. He should have known!

Still, there were some things that still were not adding up. Mostly having to do with how Shinichi Kudo had shrunken, and more importantly why. Not to mention why hadn't he told Ran about this? Shinichi was literally living under her roof, and she had no idea this was the case. His heart certainly went out to the poor girl. A picture of Aoko quickly flashed in his mind, but he pushed it away trying to focus on the situation at hand. There was still one huge question remaining on his mind...why?

Could it have to do with the THEM Tantei-kun had mentioned earlier? He thought back to the Bell Tree Express. Tantei-Kun had been rather rushed at that point. He had never given him much of an explanation on just who these people were, or why they had tried to blow him up. That girl...oh gosh was she involved in this too?

His mind went back to the Kirin's Horn heist and the girl who had managed to put together his plan with only a little help from the not-really unconscious not-child. Again the pieces were really starting to fall together. THEY clearly wanted more than that girl dead. So _that_ was Tantei-kun's motivation in keeping his identity from his girlfriend. Dang, he really didn't need more connections with this guy. It was so similar to his own situation in a way that it was scary.

Nevertheless, there were still some things he felt that he needed to clear up with this guy. After all, it had been far too long since that particular incident, and even after the later heist, he had never felt the need to explain the situation. It was far time the truth came to light. Gah. Now he was acting like Hakuba... not that he would ever outright state that bloody detective had an influence on him.

Kaito felt his conscience eating at him. For a second, he wondered if perhaps he should be more open about his identity with his closest detectives. After all, Hakuba seemingly stopped trying to capture him some time ago, and after all this new information had dropped, he was sure Tantei-kun wouldn't be so quick to capture him either if he knew the truth...

He quickly tossed this thought aside. No. He couldn't take that risk. Not yet, at least. So, for now, he was just going to have to see if he could get the detective alone for some answers. He would test the waters and see how genuine this Shinichi Kudo really was. It was time for a little chat with his little Tantei-Kun, and he was pretty certain he knew how to do it.

First, there was the matter of a certain annoying extra detective to work with though... Kaito grinned to himself. Yes, indeed the time had come for that promised "KID welcome". No one goes stepping into his territory and leaving their girlfriend crying on his watch. Time to test Tantei-han's dancing skills. Tantei-kun wouldn't be the only one he would be making sure was at that dance next week.

~*{o^o}*~

 _ **~Post note~**_

*Honestly on the whole "Kirin's Horn" incident if you haven't read/seen it Kaito uses a taser to knock out Conan. A method that I actually find a bit barbaric for him "villain" or no. I'm not sure why Gosho decided to use this particular method when potentially stealing Conan's tranquilizer watch could have proved just as effective. I'm going to pretend that's what he did here just for my own sanity.

 _ **~Special thanks again to Hebiaczek for inspiring me to write this particular bit of the fic (as well as kind of the fic in general really) Thank you for letting me use your idea of a secondary "secret base of operations" for Kaito. I hope I did it justice! You may of noticed the song I used is the follow up song to that of the one used in "The Fox and Hounds" first chapter. I am simply IN LOVE with the idea of Heiji/Kaito "dancing" together. Its just too hilarious a picture XD (For those wondering no I do not ship Heito. Any interaction between them is purely platonic. I will NEVER separate the adorable canon couple that is Heizuya)**_

 _ **This chapter kind of became a Kaito-centric chapter. Originally I had planned for Kaito/Heiji/Conan to meet, but things happened and Toichi decided to insert himself into this chapter with a force(A nearly 1,000 word force) So the meeting will instead be pushed back to next chapter. I apologize for this. ^_^;**_

 _ **At any rate I hope you all enjoyed anyway. I simply LOVED writing the reveal of Shinichi's secret and kind of have to wonder if this is how it would go down in canon. Leave it to Heiji to drop the most important piece of the puzzle. Honestly I feel like Kaito would certainly have a moment where his brain just kind of shut's down trying to process this information. I mean to be fair he has met Shinichi AS Shinichi all of once and even then he didn't know it was him (other than potentially an audio cue assuming he was listening in on the polices conversation. I'm assuming as such as he is later able to redirect the police) So yeah.**_

 _ **When will the next chapter be up? Well I have a bit of a busy week up ahead so probably no earlier than Friday, but I do have a basic outline already thought out in my head so MAYBE sooner if I get to it early enough. No guarantees though. Well until then! Thanks again for reading and Ill see you all next chapter!~**_


	7. No 21 Artists Life Waltz Champagner

VMMM Chapter 7

 _ **~Hello everybody and welcome to the long awaited return of VMMM! Gosh.. when were we here last? March…O.O A thousand apologies! I kind of got distracted with other stories. Plus you know...my muse decided to leave me hanging for some time there. This chapter actually took quite a bit of thought. Once again...deepest apologies.**_

 _ **Well anyway this chapter turned out longer than expected, though a certain someone told me that "There is no such thing as too long a chapter."so I'll take her word for it XD Hopefully it makes up for the wait!**_

 _ **That said thanks once again go out to my lovely beta DisconsolateMist I'm sorry we couldn't spend more time working on your story, but thank you for taking time out to work on mine! You're the best!**_

 _ **Disclaimer: characters are not mine. Creative scenarios in which canon characters who dont normally interact with one another...are. Please support the original work!**_

 _ **With all that...sit back...relax with some lovely classical music...and enjoy!~**_

~ _Concerto no 21 in C major~_

Aoko sighed as she walked into yet another store with her friend Keiko, chattering aimlessly at her side. "I'm still not sure about this whole thing, Keiko. I mean, Kaito's right, I don't even know how to dance. Plus, we haven't found anything worth wearing to such a formal event…" she bit her lip, frowning deeply.

Keiko looked at her friend sympathetically. They had just spent the past couple hours wandering from store to store without much success. Though, honestly, Aoko had been rather distracted all evening. No doubt thinking about her beau, even if she wouldn't openly admit to it. "Come on, Aoko. Just one last store, I promise. Besides, I have a really good feeling about this one!" She gave her friend a warm grin, trying her best to be encouraging.

Aoko sighed, before nodding slowly. "Alright, I'll give it a shot. It can't hurt, right?" Her face brightened a bit, though inwardly, she was still feeling a bit unsure. She was also kind of wishing Kaito could be here. Much as she loved her best friend Keiko, Kaito always knew just how to make her smile. Even if he was quite possibly one of the most irritating people on the face of the earth.

"There you go. Come on! Like I said, I have a really good feeling about this one. I've shopped here before, and they have a pretty great selection." Keiko continued to grin, pulling Aoko by the hand. The two were so absorbed in the moment, they didn't notice two other girls walking in the same store in a similar state.

~*{o~o}*~

Ran and Sonoko had come to the last of a long line of stores, Sonoko enthusiastically dragging Ran along the way. Meanwhile, Ran had been rather distracted all night, thinking about their encounter with Shinichi earlier.

It still seemed so surreal. He had just appeared out of nowhere as usual, but then he had gone so far as to do the very thing she was wishing for the most. He had invited her to the dance with him! No not just invited… promised to be there. While she didn't bank much on his word nowadays, there had been something truly sincere in his expression earlier. She could feel the warmth in her cheeks even now as she thought about it.

She glanced over at Sonoko, who was wearing a rather bright grin herself. There was still something a bit strange about the way Sonoko had been acting around Shinichi earlier. She wasn't blind, she had noticed the strange, excited looks her friend had been giving him. Like she knew something Ran didn't. Had Shinichi said something to her while she was away talking to Kazuha?

Ran shook her head as she and Sonoko stopped in front of a group of dresses. They were in an assortment of colors, but for some reason there was one in particular that caught her eye. She found herself drawn to the mannequin sporting an elegant blue dress. The same shade of blue as his eyes… his favorite color.

"Ooo nice choice Ran, blue, huh? Bet it reminds you of a certain someone..." Sonoko jabbed her friend lightly in the side as she took a matching dress off the rack behind the mannequin. She grinned as she watched Ran's blush grow.

Ran remained silent, though, she couldn't help the memory resurfacing of the time where Shinichi had dressed up in the blue knight's garb for their school play. What an event that had turned out to be. They had come so close to...she blushed even further, much to Sonoko's amusement.

"Well go ahead and try it on! I want to see how it looks on you. Let's see if it passes the official Suzuki test of approval." Sonoko beamed as she shoved the silky blue dress into Rans limp arms. Before she could protest she pushed Ran towards the changing rooms. "I'll wait here." She stood outside by the waiting area, in front of a small group of mirrors.

"Wait Son-" Ran blinked a couple of times as the door closed behind her. Sighing lightly to herself, and shrugging off her friend's enthusiasm, she stared at herself for a moment in the small mirror provided in the changing stall, before proceeding to try on the dress.

She nearly gasped as she stared at the image of herself in the mirror. Despite the muscular tone of her body the dress fit rather well on her shoulders. The blue roses lining the front gave off a feeling of modesty just covering the cleavage area. The elegant silky skirt swirled around her form covering her legs in wisps of light blue satin. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Still...she felt a bit odd wearing it.

Holding her breath a bit she stepped out of the dressing room. She was a bit surprised to her friend Sonoko sitting there chatting with another teenage girl she didn't recognize, with pigtails and glasses. It wasn't all that strange, as Sonoko had quite the circle of acquaintances outside Beika high, mostly from one of the numerous fan clubs she was a part of.

Ran cleared her throat catching her friends attention as well as the strangers. The girls both turned to her, with the stranger eying her in what seemed to be mild confusion as well as shock.

"Ah, there she is! Wow that really looks amazing on you, Ran!" Sonoko grinned at Ran getting up to greet her.

"A-Aoko?" the stranger said continuing to look at her confused.

Ran stared back in equal confusion, while Sonoko stopped in her tracks turning back to face the unknown girl. "Hmm? Keiko, this is my friend Ran, you know, the one I was telling you about."

The girl 'Keiko' blinked, her eyes wandering towards the top of Rans head, recognition slowly crossing her face. She blushed lightly in embarrassment before turning as Sonoko let out a gasp beside her.

Ran was about to ask why her friend was gasping when she saw her point in the direction of the changing room. Slowly turning, she had to pause for a moment as she stared into what she thought for a moment was a mirror. Only to see said mirror blink back at her before gasping in surprise.

The two mirror images lifted their hands at the same time in an interesting imitation of one another, before clasping said hands together. They both stared at eachother silent, blushing lightly as they released each others hands and stepped back.

They stood there in silence for a couple of minutes just gaping at one another until Keiko finally broke the silence. "Aoko! There you are." She trotted up beside the new girl greeting her with a strange grin on her face. She seemed to recover from her surprise rather quickly.

'Aoko' turned to face her friend, recovering just a bit slower before nodding slightly in recognition. "Sorry I took a bit…" she then turned acknowledging both Ran and Sonoko. "Umm…"

Keiko, quickly picking up on her friends confusion, decided to introduce the two others. "Oh Aoko, this is Sonoko-chan, and her friend, Ran Mouri. Sonoko-chan is head of the local magic fan club, you know, the one I go to on Saturday nights? Umm, I hadn't met Mouri-san until today. I'll admit I was as surprised as you."

Aoko bowed politely. "Hello. It's nice to meet you."

Recovering from her initial shock, Ran returned the gesture. "Nice to meet you...ah, Aoko-chan, was it?"

Aoko blushed somewhat, nodding. "Aoko Nakamori...uh, forgive me for earlier."

Ran nodded in understanding. "It's alright. It's not every day one meets their doppelganger. Though, honestly, for us to have picked the same dress…" Ran giggled. "You have to admit, it's a rather funny coincidence."

Aoko continued to blush, nodding, before chuckling herself. "It is…" She looked down at the ground, unsure of what else to say. She didn't notice Ran once again mirroring her expression.

"That dress looks great on you!" The two suddenly said in unison, much to their two friends amusement. They blinked at one another, falling silent once more. Duplicates indeed.

"Well, at least we all agree on that point." Put in Sonoko, breaking the inevitable awkward silence. "You know, I doubt even the 'great' Shinichi Kudo could tell the two of you apart at the moment. You both look gorgeous in those gowns. I'm a bit jealous, actually."

"Sonoko!" Ran said, staring at her friend a clear bit of embarrassment plastered on her flustered features.

"What? It's the truth." Sonoko said grinning.

Aoko and Keiko both blinked confused at that first statement. Keiko, however, was the first to recover. "Umm...excuse me but who's Shinichi?"

Ran quickly blanched, before giving Sonoko a light glare a veiled threat in her eyes. Aoko and Keiko just continued to look between the two of them confused, but obviously curious.

Sonoko ignored her friends glare continuing to grin. "Shinichi Kudo. Ran's boyfriend, and all around detective freak. Surprised you haven't heard of him. Though, honestly, he hasn't been around in some time. He used to be rather famous around Tokyo for his ability to stumble across a murder case everywhere he went. It was one of those irritating traits about him actually." She sighed. "Though, it is partially his fault we're out here searching for dresses."

This caught the other girls attention. Ran had remained surprisingly silent during Sonoko's explanation, though it didn't take much to piece together what she was probably thinking about at this moment. Still…perhaps a change of subject was in order?

"Wait...you guys wouldn't happen to be from Teitan High, would you?" Aoko broke in, unable to hold back her curiosity any longer.

Sonoko and Ran both blinked back in surprise the atmosphere suddenly changing to something a bit more positive. "Yeah that's right. Why?" Ran tilted her head curiously.

"Wow, that's amazing! So you're out shopping for the dance too, then!" Aoko giggled twirling a bit in her skirt.

Sonoko and Ran both stared at her before something seemed to click in their minds. Suddenly, it all made sense. "Ah! So you two are from Ekoda, then! That explains a lot, actually…" Ran stated evenly, dropping her earlier threatening air. "So you're both preparing for the Valentine's dance?"

Aoko and Keiko both nodded, though Keiko was the first to speak up. "Yeah. Though, we had decided that this was going to be the last store we were going to check tonight. It's getting rather late, after all." Keiko glanced over at her friend, who nodded again in return.

"Well, that's perfect." Sonoko laughed. "Ran and I were about to call it quits for the night, too. Hmm…" Sonoko paused her grin falling flat as she thought for a moment before her eyes began to sparkle "Hey, I've got an idea. Why don't all four of us head back to my house for a sleepover!"

All three other girls stared at Sonoko with matched looks of curiosity and shock. Ran was the first to recover, having known her friend long enough to understand that she was being completely serious...if a bit spontaneous. "Are you sure that's okay, Sonoko? I mean it is rather sudden…"

Sonoko shook her head and shrugged. "It will be fine. My dad's always happy to have extra company, and my mom...well she knows you well enough Ran. I'm sure she won't mind a few extra guests tagging along. Besides, we have plenty of room!"

Ran sighed and then glanced over to the other two girls, who were still looking a bit dumbfounded. She could hardly blame them. "Still. You shouldn't just spring something like this on new acquaintances." Ran sighed and turned to the other two. "I apologize for any rudeness. I will admit it does seem like a fun idea. You don't have to come if you don't want to, though."

Keiko broke in, shaking her head and raising her hands in an appeasing gesture. "No, it's fine… it's funny though." she glanced at Aoko with a knowing grin. "Does Sonoko-chan remind you of a certain someone, Aoko?"

Aoko nodded and chuckled. "I get the feeling they would probably get along pretty well, actually. Though, honestly, I'm guessing Sonoko's parties are pretty tame in comparison to _his_." Aoko blushed a bit at the memory of Kaito's last surprise party. It was certainly an event she would never forget. Though, for some reason, after last year he had stopped throwing such parties. She always had to orchestrate them herself now.

Now it was Ran and Sonoko's turn to be confused. "Oh? And who's this we're talking about now?"

Aoko blushed involuntarily. "No one important…"

Keiko chuckled knowingly at her friend's reaction, though she decided to take a bit of pity on her friend in this case. "He's just a crazy prankster magician from our class. I think I told you about him once, actually."

Sonoko paused, thinking for a moment, before recognition lit her features. "Ah, yes, the one who claimed he was better than KID-sama. I remember now…" In truth, Sonoko had been kind of angry when she had first heard about such a guy. Though, she had to admit, she was curious about him.

Keiko had admitted that his claim, although bold and arrogant, was actually pretty accurate, as he was a pretty amazing magician on par with KIDs skill. Plus Keiko had said later on that he had changed his tune, and was a huge fan of KID consistently following his heists, and ranting about him in the middle of class. He actually sounded like a person she would indeed get along with… at least so long as he stayed away from his original ridiculous boast.

Aoko flinched at the mention of KID, quickly clearing her throat and changing the subject. "Anyway, I think a sleep over sounds like a lot of fun. Uh, we're a bit far from home though. I don't have extra clothes beyond my uniform with me." She glanced at Keiko, who nodded and shrugged.

Sonoko shook her head and beamed. "That's alright, I have plenty of extra clothes at home you could borrow…" When Ran jabbed her lightly in the side, she quickly corrected herself. "Kidding. I can have my driver go and take you home so you can pick up some stuff, if you would like. It shouldn't take long."

Aoko and Keiko glanced between each other and back at Ran, who just shrugged at them which looked a bit odd while she was still wearing the dress. "It's up to you guys. I'm personally not against it. Though honestly, we did just meet today...I'd understand if you want to ask your parents permission first."

Sonoko scoffed a bit at her friend's motherly attitude before sighing. She had a point. "Well, whatever you guys decide is best."

Aoko and Keiko took one final glance at each other and nodded quickly. "We'll do it," they said in unison.

So from there, it was decided. The two doppelgangers, on their friend's request, ended up buying both dresses, though they agreed to look into "modifying" the dresses to fit their unique styles. With that, the girls set off to spend some time together and prepare for the coming dance, as well as get to know their new mutual friends.

There would be much talk of many subjects that night, but the one most frequently discussed would be that of the girls and their respective guy friends. Much to Aoko and Ran's dismay at first, but later, to everyone's amusement, it seemed they had more in common than just their appearance. This looked like the beginning of a rather beautiful friendship.

~*Artists Life Waltz*~

Meanwhile, in a completely different section of town, two male friends walked side by side, completely unaware of how one of them was the subject of conversation. They had just finished debating over some past cases, and were now discussing their plans for the next few days. Well one was discussing, the other was listening, rather annoyed. Seems Hattori had planned on staying for some time. Much to Conan's dismay in this case.

"Oi, Hattori. You know I normally enjoy working on and talking about cases as much as you do, but that doesn't mean I'm actually in the mood to go seeking some out." Conan huffed, crossing his arms. At the moment, he was doing a pretty good impression of a petulant child being watched by his "adult" guardian.

"Aw c'mon, Kudo. I come all da way here ta see ya and ya can't be da least bit friendly?" Heiji grinned down at his friend. "Ya know ya want ta look inta this as much as I do."

Conan sighed, pinching the brim of his nose. "Hattori, seriously, I'm not in the mood to have this discussion. I've got problems of my own to deal with right now. I really don't have time to deal with this." Conan sighed. In all honesty, he was glad his friend had come to visit. It was a good distraction from his earlier worries with Ran and Sonoko, but he couldn't seem to get the dance off his mind. Not to mention he had a crazy feeling that he was being watched… though, where that came from, he couldn't be certain.

There was one positive; despite he and Heiji's combined luck, no one had managed to die tonight. Though he knew it was only a matter of time.

As if to answer his thoughts, Heiji and he both glanced up as there was a scream in the street not far from them, followed by several surprised gasps. Conan groaned a bit inwardly as he noticed a large crowd gathered not far from them. Heiji, with his longer legs, was already a few strides ahead of him, pushing his way through the tightly knit crowd. Conan did his best to catch up to him, slipping just behind him before falling on his butt as he crashed into his friend's legs.

He noticed that Heiji was staring, confused, at something in the middle of the crowd. To his surprise, this something was not a corpse at all, but what looked to be a young woman dressed in semi-formal attire. She had short brown hair and blue eyes. She was currently balancing on one hand, using the other to wave at the audience. On closer inspection, it seemed that she had just landed after jumping from an impressive height. At least that what the scream seemed to indicate.

Heiji was looking on, unsure what to make of this strange spectacle. Just then, he caught the girl turning and winking at him before she did a handspring flip and landed in front of him with a grin. "Hello. Welcome to my show. Glad you could make it." Her voice came out light and airy with just a slight twinge to her accent. She sounded foreign in some way. European, perhaps? He blinked as she stood there, looking him over.

Heiji rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Was he supposed to say something to that? Honestly, there was something strange about the girl before him. He noticed as she glanced briefly behind him, he turned around to see Conan brushing himself off, before turning back to the girl. She locked eyes with him momentarily, her grin growing akin to a cheshire cat's before turning and walking away with a showman's gait.

"Well, now that more of the audience has arrived, let's continue with the show." She grinned and began to do a few simple acrobatic maneuvers on the ground as the audience watched with several claps and gasps. She was incredibly flexible, to say the least.

Still Heiji and Conan stood staring, unimpressed. Obviously this performer had already used up her best trick at the start of the show. There was no point in remaining here to see the rest.

They were just about to turn and leave when there was a sudden burst of smoke, followed by several cherry blossom petals falling from above where the woman had just been standing. The two boys glanced around, trying to figure out where she had disappeared, only to see someone point upwards.

Conan and Heiji's eyes widened as they stared at the visage of the woman standing high above on a balcony. They immediately took note of how her clothes had changed into something a bit more sparkly and showy than what she had been wearing before. They also took note of the cloth hanging beneath her, just before it disappeared.

She bowed slightly to her audience before her melodic voice rang out. "Don't take off just yet folks... the show's only just begun." With a flash of a bright grin, she jumped onto the side of the balcony. Then, she slowly slid on an invisible wire down towards the audience once more, though to most of the audience it appeared as if she were floating, suspended in mid air.

Conan scoffed a bit at the display, having seen something similar done before, but he noticed Heiji was actually looking a bit mesmerized by the acts. He could tell his fellow detective was trying to piece together just how such a feat could be pulled off in such a short amount of time.

He chuckled a bit at Heiji's bafflement. In truth, he was rather impressed himself. The female performer, who he was starting to suspect wasn't as innocent as she first appeared, was quite talented. He knew of only one other person who possessed that sort of skill and precision. Still...he kept that idea to the back of his mind, knowing full well the implications.

The acro-magician landed on the ground as before, and continued her routine with music suddenly filling the background. It seemed to be an upbeat techno variant on an old classical track. Her flips became more complicated as time went on, with several new magical flourishes added. These ranged from randomly appearing silk fabric and glitter, to a couple more quick changes to her outfit. All met with wide applause and cheers from the audience, which had begun to grow even larger as time went on.

Conan watched the scene play out before him with a certain scrutiny. There was a magical quality about the woman's movements. Every gesture meant to distract in such a subtle way that you wouldn't be able to tell unless you were looking for it. A couple of times she had seemingly caught Conan staring. Though, each time, he felt a warm feeling light his cheeks as she batted long, fake eyelashes at him before quickly returning to her routine.

Suddenly, the woman landed right in front of Heiji with a simple hop, skip, flip, jump, and a deep bow, as well as a showering of more petals. She grinned at him, grabbing his hand in her own. "And for my last act, I shall require a strong volunteer." She continued to grin as Heiji stared back at her, his eyes lost on her face, as if studying it. "How about you? You seem like you are a pretty strong guy…" Her eyes slid from his chest to his arms.

Heiji was unsure how to react at first, but quickly recovered giving a grin of his own. "Sure. Why not?" He shrugged and allowed himself to be lead to the center of the group. There were several cheers as well as a few jealous looks, as the acro-magician lead Heiji through what almost looked like a miniature dance, showing him off to the audience. She guided him gently in a glide before positioning him and telling him quietly where to stand.

The performer turned to address the audience. "Now remember, I'm a professional. This may look dangerous...well it is. Don't try this without the proper training." She then turned to Heiji. "I'm going to need you to follow my instructions exactly in order to pull this off. Understand?" She locked eyes with him.

Heiji nodded. He had been rather enamoured with the act so far. It was so different from anything he had seen so far that he had found himself getting inadvertently lost in it. Now here he was about to participate in what was probably the grand finale. He glanced briefly over at his small friend. He could see that Kudo had an unreadable look on his face. Was that...jealousy he saw in his eyes? Heiji chuckled. "Sorry...Kudo," he muttered under his breath. "Looks like ya have ta sit this one out." He grinned.

The female acrobat cleared her throat briefly, reminding him of her presence. "Are you ready?" she asked quietly, raising an eyebrow. "I can't have my assistant too distracted. As I said, this is a rather dangerous stunt."

Heiji nodded. "So what da ya need me ta do, exactly?" he asked grinning. He could feel the anticipation around him.

She smiled back at him. "Just follow my instructions, like I said. I'm going to need to use your back and shoulders as a balancing pole."

Heiji nodded, and, on her instruction, bent over allowing the woman to step up on his back. Up close, he could see just how muscular she looked. Still, despite this, she was rather light weight as she stepped on top of him. Standing up as instructed, he just barely helped her onto his shoulders, holding her feet at the heels. The audience cheered, and he had to fight back from taking a bow.

"Okay, now keep that position. I'm going to flip onto my hands. I need you to remain perfectly still while I do this, alright?" The woman's voice came out as smooth as silk.

Heiji still found himself flinching a bit, though. Despite her skill, he was still a bit worried that something could go wrong here. Nonetheless, he did as instructed, and was impressed as he could feel her weight shifting until she was hands over backwards, doing a handstand on his shoulders, he could see out of the corner of his eye her legs spread apart evenly. He heard the cheers of the crowd once more, and glanced back over at Kudo, who was standing with his mouth open, his arms crossed. Heiji gave him a little wave, careful not to jostle the person on top of him.

Said person also did a rather impressive single hand stand, while also waving to the audience. Before quickly bending over backwards and rebalancing her feet on Heiji's shoulders. She continued to wave before lightly leaping off his back, landing on the ground beside him to the sound of more cheers.

She gave a sweeping bow, and grabbed on to Heiji's hand. "Let's all have a round of applause for my wonderful assistant." She motioned for Heiji to bow, and he did so alongside her while the audience exploded in applause. She then turned to Heiji and whispered quietly in his ear in a decidedly more masculine voice "Brilliant job, detective. Thank you very much for your assistance. Oh, and be sure to tell Tantei-kun he needn't worry about the missing watch. He should know better than any I always return what I take. We will see eachother again soon enough." 'She' grinned and with one final wink, followed by a wave, and a dash of smoke 'she' disappeared leaving a dumbstruck Heiji behind.

~*Champagner polka*~

The audience slowly dispersed as they realized the show was over. Heiji, however, continued to stand there trying to piece together what just happened. Had she...that was supposed to be a she right? Did she just play him? He continued to stare off into space trying to collect himself.

Meanwhile Conan, whom had witnessed the entire exchange, trotted up to him glancing around restlessly. "Hattori! Did you see which way he went?" He continued to peer around, trying to determine the direction the target had run off to. He then turned back to face Hattori, who was seemingly lost in his own world. Well that wasn't entirely surprising. This was his first time after all...still. " Oi! Hattori! Snap out of it!"

Heiji blinked a couple of times before his eyes finally settled on the figure of his shrunken friend before him. "Ku-Kudo...wha...what exactly jus' happened? Who was that?"

Conan sighed, before smirking lightly. "KID." He paused. "Though, what exactly all that was...I'm not actually sure. There were no heists scheduled for today that I know of." He sighed again, staring off into the distance. It was likely KID hadn't gotten far, but knowing him, he could be just about anywhere, and anyone at this point. Though, he was still trying to figure out what the point of that whole charade had been. In retrospect, he probably didn't want to know what kind of crazy thoughts went on in that guy's mind.

"KID? As in...that crazy thief ya told me 'bout before?" He stared at Kudo, confusion and slight recognition written on his face. That would actually explain a lot. "Any idea what he wanted? Why was he out here performin' like that? Seems a bit strange if ya ask me…"

Conan shook his head and chuckled, muttering under his breath. "You don't know the half of it." Still he felt he owed his friend some explanation. "I've told you before, KID likes to pull some crazy stunts. If I were to guess...this was probably his way of welcoming you to 'his' neighborhood. Before you ask me how he knew who you were, or the fact that you're even here, I have absolutely no clue. The guy's a complete nutcase."

Heiji just stared at Conan, unsure what to make of that. Eventually, he decided to just wave it off and take his word for it. The fact that the guy had dressed rather convincingly up as a female acrobat really should have been a sign.

"Oh, what did he say to you by the way?" Conan asked curiously. He had noticed how KID had been whispering in Hattori's ear just before his sudden disappearance.

Heiji blinked for a moment, trying to recall. "Oh, ah...he thanked me fer my help. Then he said sumthin' 'bout yer watch and how he always returns what he steals…" He glanced down at Conan, whose eyes immediately widened, as they both looked at his wrist which had a small band with a piece of paper attached to it.

"Why that little…" he grumbled, grabbing at the little piece of paper attached to the fake band. He scanned over the words, his face portraying a number of emotions. Finally, he crumpled the paper in his hands, glaring down at the ground, his face beet red. "I swear, the next heist you have about ten separate soccer balls headed for your face!" he put the note away in his pocket.

Heiji waited curiously for some explanation as to what was written on the page, but he never got one as Conan began to walk away without another word. "Hey wait up!" he called as followed after his friend. "C'mon, Kudo, tell me what was in the note!"

Conan whirred around, glowering. "Trust me Hattori, you don't want to know."

Heiji gulped. Well alright then. He would just have to discreetly sneak a peek later.

Meanwhile, up above a figure watched with a knowing grin. Seemed the ploy had worked to perfection. He now had gotten under the little detectives skin, and he had also acquired two interesting objects which he would return at a later date when he saw fit. One of which was the shrunken detectives prized wristwatch, the other the "strong" detectives cell phone, which he most likely still hadn't realized was missing.

"Alright, Tantei-han, now that I've seen your dancing skills, it's time to arrange a little date." He grinned to himself as he scrolled through the detective's contacts. "Ah! Here's the one!"

Quickly dialing the number, he cleared his throat. It took only a couple of rings for it to pick up. He knew immediately from the screaming voice on the other side of the phone he had gotten the right number. "Ah 'zuha. Sorry I didn' call earlier I got a little...hung up." He held the phone away from his ear. He could already tell this was going to be a _very_ interesting conversation.

 _ **~How was it? Ill admit I actually had to cut it a bit short before I originally intended...next chapter may or may not take place after a time skip. Probably not though. Please leave a comment/review on your way out if you get the chance. Until next time!~**_


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